


Whoever Fights Monsters

by ignite



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Medieval AU, Vampire AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-06-03
Packaged: 2018-01-12 17:36:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 78,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1193787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ignite/pseuds/ignite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a little island lost in the middle of the sea, two parallel worlds live side by side - the Human world, governed by physical laws, and the Dryad world where magic abounds. </p><p>A long time ago, Vampires attacked the Humans and almost killed them all, while the Dryads hid in their own world and refused to help -until it was almost too late. As the Humans were ready to give up, the Dryads finally came to their rescue. They imprisoned the remaining Vampires in their world, where magic could keep them subdued forever.</p><p>At least, that was the plan.</p><p>A hundred years later, it seems the Vampires have managed to break free -and now the tables have turned. Gavin Free, a lone Dryad, is sent to the Human world to ask for help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> a/n : I've been sitting on that story for a long, long time... There's gonna be vampires and elementals and empaths and stuff. I've tagged it as OT6 even if the romance is a bit slow to come, but it will definitely be there, even if it's not the main focus.
> 
> A few more warnings : In a few chapters, there's gonna be blood and other unpleasant things. And then, more blood. So, proceed with caution...

Gavin stood before the high gates of the Castle. The dungeon was towering over him, tall, dark, foreboding. He hoped it wasn't in use anymore.

Two guards were blocking his way and Gavin was desperately trying to convince them he was harmless. He cringed under their stare and pulled nervously at the hood over his head until it almost reached his eyes.

"You want to see the King," resumed one guard. Gavin nodded. "And you won't tell us why." Gavin shook his head. "And you expect us to just let you in?"

"I-I need to ask him something," stammered Gavin. "I really, really need to see him."

"Why won't you tell us what?" asked the second guard. He was smaller than the other, bespectacled. "You don't need to be specific. Just tell us the general idea."

"Of course he needs to be specific," said the first guard. "He needs a good excuse to bother the King out of the blue." The man's eyes narrowed at Gavin's clothing, at his old brown cloak, at the hood hiding his hair and keeping his eyes in shadows. "And he's not from here."

"So?" said the guard with glasses. "Being from far away isn't an offence."

"He doesn't look right."

"Your face doesn't look right either but you can enter the Castle," retorted the other, and Gavin laughed. He cut it out quickly when the first guard threw him a murderous glance.

The one with glasses sighed. "He's not armed and he looks like he weighs ten pounds. I doubt he's gonna try anything. Let the King decide whether or not to let him ask his question, all right?"

"Whatever," muttered the taller guard. "It's on you if anything happens."

"Sure, man. You, come on."

Gavin followed as the tall, heavy doors opened with a shrill whine.

Contrary to what Gavin expected, the corridors through which he was led were almost bare, the gray stone walls supporting only some torches and the occasional tapestry of a great battle. Of the five Gavin saw, four were about the Vampire War.

They stopped in front of yet another heavy door safely guarded. While the guards had a chat Gavin stayed back, apprehension rising in his guts and making knots in his throat. The weight of his mission had been getting heavier with each step towards the castle, now he was there he felt like he was choking underneath it.   

"King Gus is not that bad."

Gavin looked up at his bespectacled guard in surprise. "What?"

"Don't look so nervous! You won't endear anyone to your cause."

"You don't know what's my cause," pointed out Gavin.

The guard shrugged and said nothing more. Finally, the great doors swung open with a creaking sound. Gavin was pushed forward.

There was a lush red carpet on the floor, leading in a straight line to four steps on top of which sat the throne, glinting with gold. The King was looking down at Gavin under frowned eyebrows, suspicion clear in his eyes.

Gavin shuffled forward, very aware of all the eyes riveted on him -and there were a lot of eyes around. It looked like the whole Court had taken place on either side of the carpet, all stuck in extravagant clothing, thick tissues and delicate laces. Only the King was dressed humbly.

Gavin stopped at the bottom of the stairs and knelt, head bowed. His heart skipped a beat as he heard the King stand up.

"I've been told you have walked a long way to come here and request an audience."

Gavin cleared his throat nervously. "That is correct, your Majesty."

"So tell me," said the King solemnly, "what do you want from me?"

Gavin took a deep breath. That was it. The cogs were in motion and he stop them. He straightened up and looked at the King, who seemed in equal parts wary and amused at him.

"I come here to ask for your help, your Majesty."

"My help? For what?"

"War," said Gavin.

Clamors rose all around Gavin. The King's frown deepened even more, dark eyes becoming thunderous.

"Are you threatening my kingdom?" he asked, voice cold as ice. "We are at peace, have been for years and intend on staying that way. But I can assure you that if you threaten us, we will respond--"

"No!" said Gavin quickly. "No, your Majesty. I don't want to fight you or your Kingdom."

"Then what? Spit it out!"

Gavin jumped a little at the harshness of the King's voice. 'Here goes nothing,' he thought to himself.

Slowly, he raised his hands to the hood of his cloak and lowered it. Two thin, pointy ears flopped as they were freed from under the cloth, poking through sand-colored hair. The light touched his eyes and a myriad of colors ignited in them, iridescent, almost shining.

There was a collective gasp followed by a deafening uproar. All the voices around him were crying out.

"A Dryad?!"

"Who let that enter the Castle?"

"I thought they were smaller..."

"I thought they'd died of shame!"

"What are the guards doing? Get him!"

Gavin cowered, insults and threats flying without relenting. He had known the reaction would be bad, but experiencing it cut deeper than he'd expected. He was waiting for guards to grab him and throw him in the dungeon.

"Quiet!" yelled the King.

Immediately the voices died down, leaving dead silence in their wake. Trembling, Gavin wondered if it wasn't worse than the insults.

"Look at me, Dryad," said the King.

Gavin obeyed. He caught sight of the guard who had led him here, standing to the side with his arms crossed on his chest. Like everyone else his eyes were on Gavin, but the expression on his face almost pitying.

The King, for one, looked irate.

"You come here asking for my Kingdom's help because your little world is at war? Is that it?"

Gavin nodded shakily. Yet, his voice came out steady and clear. "It is preparing for war, your Majesty. Enemies are closing in on us."

The King barked an unsympathetic laugh.

"And this is our problem, is it? Your people left us to ourselves when we needed you the most. You hid and we were forced to battle on our own, without your powers to back us up. Do I have to remind you what your cowardice cost us? Death, destruction, civil war? And only now we have managed to gain some stability and peace back, you come back here and have the galls to ask for our help!"

"But your Majesty, the enemies I'm speaking of," said Gavin quickly, "are Vampires."

The court was silent as a grave. Nobody uttered a sound, all shocked into speechlessness.

Until the King breathed out : "Are you fucking kidding me?"

 

 

_***_

Gavin was holding back tears. He had barely stopped on his way to the Castle, and now he had to make the journey back, head hung low and heart heavy. The thought of giving the bad news to his people was making him queasy. The King had thrown him out of the Court without wanting to hear one more word.

"Excuse me?" he had bellowed. "The one thing you people did was to lock the Vampires up, and you can't do it properly? Well, deal with it on your own just like we did! If your people cannot fight against three weakened Vampires you imprisoned yourselves, then you'll see me happy that you impotent idiots didn't join us during the War."

"We are powerless!" had tried to protest Gavin. "They drank blood already and are becoming stronger, what if they find a way out of our world and attack yours?"

"Don't try to lie to me," had roared the King. "They can't get out without a Dryad to help them. If a single Vampire is helped out of your world, then you can be sure that the Humans will not only be at war against them but also against your pathetic people. Understood?"

That had been the end of that. Neither the King nor anyone Gavin had tried to talk to had listened to him and to his arguments. They had booed him all the way out of the castle.

Gavin was alone.

"Hey, idiot!" rang a voice.

He startled out of his thoughts. He looked around him, blinking at thin air.

"Behind you!"

He turned around. The guard with the glasses was here, sporting a lighter armor than he had before, his sword sheathed by his side. He didn't have a helmet, allowing for a thick head of red-ish hair to shine in the sunset.

"Hello?" tried Gavin. What was going on? Had the King changed his mind and decided not just to ban him, but to imprison him? Gavin cringed back a little when the guard stopped before him.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to harm you," he said in a mocking voice. "You really are a cowardly one, aren't you!"

"I'm not," said Gavin crossly. He gathered himself higher -which was a bit taller than the guard, who did not seem intimidated in the least.

"Yeah, right. You just jump all the time for the fun of it."

"What do you want?" snapped Gavin.

The guard smiled at him. "To help."

Gavin blinked. "Sorry?"

"Help you and your people. Dryads."

"You wan to help us..." Gavin frowned. "Alone?"

"You don't think I'm capable of helping you guys out?" The guard looked offended.

"No, wait!" said Gavin immediately. "That's not what I meant! I just... I meant that... You... are one guard... erm..."

The guard laughed. "Calm down, I was joking. Of course I won't come alone! Although, you could do worse. But I know some dudes I can ask for a bit of help. Admittedly, it's not much, but it's better than leaving you guys alone, isn't it? Do you accept my modest offer?"

"But..." started Gavin slowly. He glanced back at the silhouette of the Castle in the distance. The setting sun was making it look red, almost angry. "Can you even do it? Aren't you supposed to follow the King's orders?"

"Yeah, well. King Gus's an asshole."

Gavin almost chocked. "Sorry?!"

"He is! He's a good King to his own people and everything, but the way he treated you wasn't right. He's an ass."

"You told me he wasn't that bad."

"I was simply trying to knock that frightened look off your face. And I failed. You looked like a wreck, of course nobody fucking listened to you."

As they bickered they started to walk along the path together, away from the Castle and away from the guard's home. An intense feeling of gratitude welled up in Gavin's chest, alongside the very persistent feeling that the guard had no business giving up his life so carelessly.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Michael. Now," said the guard as Gavin was about to open his mouth again,"let me lead the way."

He started to pick up the pace, leaving Gavin to run after him.

"Has there really been a civil war here?" he asked.

"You don't know about it?"

Gavin shrugged. "We don't really talk about the Vampire Wars."

"Well of course, you guys weren't here, you don't know how it went," sniggered Michael. "King Gus' grandfather was the King at the time. A group of Vampires managed to break into the castle and kill him. They were defeated in the end obviously, but King Gus' dad was too young to rule and the country went batshit for a while. King Gus only took the throne back like two years before I was born, I think. And then," said Michael, glancing at Gavin with a frown, "he ordered his soldiers to take down every single oak tree. Don't you guys need those to open portals between our two worlds? How the hell did _you_ even get here?"

"There are always oaks that haven't been discovered. The one I used to cross over to your world is two days of walk away."

"You must be spent."

Gavin shrugged. "I'm used to walking a lot. We don't have horses in my world."

"Really? I don't really know how your Black Forest works..."

"Well first of all, only Humans call it Black Forest. It's not dark at all! We call it Old Oak Forest."

"Interesting. Come on, tell me about it!"

Gavin smiled at Michael's enthusiasm. He started describing his world and its endless oak woodlands, the bright green of the leaves, the houses built up in the trees, the Beacon that warmed up the air, the soft grass under your feet.

Michael kept the conversation going, never running out of question to ask or comment to make. Soon, Gavin found himself conversing as if with an old friend.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a village sandwiched between a few hills and the vast sea. 

Sitting on a rock on the side of one such hill was a man, his nose in a book and a long plant held between two fingers. He was so engrossed in his reading that he failed to notice the plant's strange behavior ; the long stem was starting to twist around and snake up until it found the man's beard. It dove in merrily, curled around a strand of hair, and yanked. 

The man yelped in pain, jumping to his feet and grabbing his beard. The book fell to the ground, alongside the plant now as inanimate as it should have ever been. The man turned around, eyes narrowed, and scanned his surroundings. He could not see anyone, only trees and flowers sprouting sporadically on the side of the hill and the village at the bottom. He grumbled, and bent over to pick up his book. 

Immediately, the branch of a nearby tree shot out and pushed on the man's backside, making him fall on his face. It had already retracted when the man sat up, spluttering and cursing.

"Geoff!" he called. "I know you're here! Will you stop fucking with me!"

A characteristic giggle echoing through the air told him he was right. He rolled his eyes as he reached for his book.

"This is my father's book! If it's torn, you're going to pay for it!"

A man stepped out from behind a tree. He was dishevelled, tattoos covering his bare arms, a scar on his lips stretched by a goofy smile as he tried his best not to laugh.

"Hi, Jack."

Jack eyed him briefly before reporting his eyes on his book. "I suppose you're happy with yourself."

"Come on, don't be a sourpuss. You know I'd never harm a book."

"But you'll happily harm me."

"You're fun to hurt!"

Satisfied his book was whole, Jack raised his gaze to his friend. "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you had plans with your grandfather."

"Yeah, well apparently I'm not my Granddad's idea of a fun night out, so he made plans with someone else and discarded me like an old lonely sock."

Jack sighed. "I take it he's still not ready to see reason, then."

"Not really, no."

"So, what do you want to do with your evening now it's free? I'm guessing it'll involve alcohol."

"You know me so well," smiled Geoff. "Oh, hey, look!" he said, pointing at the top of the hill. "Company."

Two silhouettes were indeed coming down towards them. One, with a head of curly auburn hair and an armor shining in the sunset, was easy enough to recognize. The other, slighter but taller and wrapped in what looked like old cardboard somehow fashioned into clothes, was unknown. Jack took the hand Geoff offered him and got back to his feet.

"Hey!" called Michael when he was close enough. "I knew I'd find you somewhere out there."

"Hi," answered Jack slightly warily. "What are you doing here? And who's your friend?"

The friend in question raised his hooded head to Jack and smiled tightly. "Hello. My name's Gavin."

Jack felt Geoff stiffen slightly from behind him. He glanced at his friend and was surprised to see him look quite so stricken. When he talked however, Geoff's voice was sweet as honey.

"Hello, Gavin. That's a funny accent you've got here."

Gavin bit on his lower lip. He glanced furtively at Michael, who simply waved at him as if to wave his worries away before turning back to Geoff and Jack.

"I guess you've worked out who he is, then."

"Not really?" said Jack confusedly, even as Geoff nodded.

"Listen to his accent, Jack. Add that to the frail appearance, the tanned skin, the hood over his head..."

Jack frowned, and looked back at the cardboard-clad guy. "He's a Dryad? You're a Dryad?"

Gavin nodded briefly, eyes on the ground. Before anyone could say anything more, Michael cut in.

"Geoff, you need to hear what we have to say."

Geoff seemed to consider it, gaze going from Michael to the Dryad, back to Michael. Then he simply shrugged. 

"Alright, whatever."

He raised both hands and waved in the air. There was a rumble under their feet before two thick roots emerged from the ground, moving like worms and making a cracking noise. The Dryad startled as they arched over, offering two seats to him and Michael. 

"What the hell...?" he yelped, and Geoff and Michael smirked. 

"He's an earth Elemental," said Jack casually.

The Dryad's mouth fell open as he stared. Geoff seemed to take pride in this unprompted admiration, a contented air on his face as he sat on Jack's rock and crossed his legs.

"Sit," ordered Michael, pushing Gavin down. 

"What is a Dryad doing here?" asked Geoff. "I thought you guys refused to cross the barrier between our worlds. I heard it was because of incurable cowardice."

Gavin bristled. "That's not it!"

"Then explain. And what are you doing here, mister I'm-A-Guard-Now?" he added to Michael.

Michael pouted. "I told you I was going to be a free spirit."

"Which means you're here without your King's approval?" deciphered Jack, taking place next to Geoff.

Michael sighed, and started to tell the story.

_***_

Michael was nervous. Geoff was a skilled liar, and singularly gifted in making people think he was feeling one thing when he was feeling another. But he rarely hid his emotions altogether, he always had something to display even if it was a lie. 

Right now, as Michael was finishing recounting the events under the light of the full moon, Geoff's eyes were as blank as possible and it was unsettling.

Those vacuous blue eyes turned towards the Dryad.

"How long until the Vampires attack you again?"

Gavin's eyes were carefully avoiding anyone else. "We don't know," he said quietly. "It started two weeks ago, they abducted a lot of our children..."

"How?"

Gavin shrugged. "I don't know. They broke our defences, that's all I've been told. I didn't see the attack, I only heard it..."

"Your people send you out and don't even give you all the information?"

"I was chosen because I volunteered and I'm one of the most robust," said Gavin. "Not because I know everything."

"Dear lord," mumbled Geoff. "If you're the most robust of the lot, we're in troubles."

"Is Dryad blood really as powerful as I've heard?" asked Jack. Gavin nodded sadly. "So... they are gaining in strength."

"They raided us again a week ago," said Gavin. "They didn't come inside the village but they took most of our patrolling soldiers and fled. We put up more defences but don't know if they'll hold for long."

Geoff leaned forward, elbows on his knees and chin in his palms. "Michael, what are you expecting me to do, exactly?"

"A call to arms, Geoff," said Michael with determination. "Elementals don't have to bend to the King Gus' will. You can go talk to your grandfather and convince him to send his army to their help."

Michael had been expecting to have to fight Geoff on that point. He had not expected Geoff to start laughing his ass off. 

"What?!" he said, irritated. He could deal with anger ; he wasn't sure he could deal with derision.

"Oh, Michael," said Geoff between two giggles. "You are so young and so, so naive."

"Why!"

"You haven't been here in a long time, dude. Things have changed around here. My grandfather is getting old as dicks and he's becoming less and less grounded and more and more angry at anything that ever touched the Vampires. If he so much as hears you utter the word "Dryad"... Dude, you'll wish King Gus catches your rebellious, deserting ass and sends it to the noose."

"I have to agree," said Jack. "This will never work."

"Not in a million years," added Geoff.

The Dryad kind of shrugged, eyes still to the ground. "Not your fault," he said quietly. "My people never had much hope sending me over here. They just had to try it."

"Geoff!" protested Michael. "Come on! There has to be something you can do! You're like, the freaking prince here!"

Geoff raised an amused eyebrow. "I'm prince now? Did you miss the thing where my grandfather is the one in power and he _hates my guts_?"

"So you'll let Gavin watch his people get murdered?" Michael was yelling by now. "You'll sit back and relax while they all get slaughtered by the same Vampires that killed your mother, that almost killed you? What if they find a way to cross the bridge between our two worlds! Have you thought about this?"

"Michael. Shut the fuck up," snapped Geoff. His voice was not loud, but it was heavy enough that it seemed as though he had yelled at the top of his lungs. Michael quieted down immediately and only silence reigned for a moment, the atmosphere thick with tension. 

Finally, Geoff turned to the Dryad.

"Can you spare a night before going back to your land?"

"I... guess so..."

"Good. I invite you over to my house. Come on, all of you stupid asses!" he said, getting up and stretching voluptuously. "I'm tired of sitting here. I need my bed."

The roots under everyone retracted suddenly, leaving Michael's butt to hit the ground. The Dryad was the only one who had been fast enough to jump to his feet in time. 

They walked down the hill in silence, Michael ruminating -and maybe feeling a little bit guilty about what he had said to Geoff. Bringing up his mother's murder had been a really low blow.

Jack held up a hand and clicked his fingers. A tiny spark flashed, and with a crackling sound a small fire appeared in his palm. The Dryad immediately gravitated closer to it, eyes wide with wonder.

The Elementals village was empty at this hour, though Michael guessed the Water people were out on the beach doing whatever they did whenever the moon was full. Howling at it or something like that. Those guys had always been weird.

Geoff's house was just as empty. It was big, with many rooms that were never used, and each of the guests received a private bedroom.

Now alone and sitting on a bed so soft he almost disappeared into the mattress, Michael was mulling over his own helplessness. He had never bought the whole "Dryads are to blame for everything that went wrong" propaganda that all Humans had been fed from the day they were born for a hundred years. Gavin was the first Dryad he'd ever seen, but Michael was sure of one thing : the guy was not evil in the slightest. 

What he was, was worried to death for his people and devastated that he had to go back without help. Terrified of watching all he loved being destroyed and killed. Michael knew the feeling.

He nodded to himself in the dark. If no one else was going to help, well, he was. 

There was a soft knock on his door.

"Yeah?" he called.

The door opened and Gavin slipped his head through the crack. Michael raised his eyebrows.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Sorry," said Gavin, clearing his throat. "Am I bothering you?"

"Not really."

Gavin entered and closed the door behind him. He seemed to hesitate a few seconds before he walked to Michael's bed and sat on the edge. Michael watched him quizzically. 

"I just wanted to say thank you," said the Dryad quietly.

"What?"

"Thank you."

"I didn't do anything," said Michael, frowning. "I can't get you even a single helping hand in the whole freaking Kingdom, what are you thanking me for?"

"But you tried," said Gavin. "I just wanted to say thank you for that. You're the first Human I've met who stuck with me and... well, tried to help. So, even if it didn't work, I just wanted to let you know : I'm grateful for what you did."

Michael twisted his mouth pensively. Gavin had gone back to his annoying habit of looking at the ground instead the person he was talking to, his leg bouncing nervously. Yeah, the guy was definitely not evil. 

"You know," started Michael, "as a guard I have to protect the King first and foremost. The one rule we have to follow is 'obey the King'. That's our one purpose in life once we've donned the uniform."

"You did not do that," said Gavin. "What would happen to you if they find out?"

Michael shrugged. "Considering I deserted to help a banished Dryad? Geoff's right, they'll probably hang me." Gavin twitched, but Michael didn't stop. "Anyway, that's not why I wanted to become a guard."

Gavin was looking at him now, finally. His eyes were strangely shiny in the almost-darkness, and Michael wondered if he could see in the dark like a cat. 

"I became a guard because I wanted to use the skills I picked up when I served in the army," he went on. "I didn't want them to go to waste while people around me needed them, needed to be protected. And the King doesn't need protection right now, but you do."

"So you chose to disobey knowing it can lead to your death?"

"I have to die some day, don't I? Dying of old age is boring."

Gavin looked worried. "Back at the Castle, nobody knows you left to help me, do they? You'll just go back to your post tomorrow morning and you'll be all right, right?"

"Huh? Who told you I was going back? Did you not listen to everything I just said?"

Gavin opened his mouth, then closed it. Then opened it. And closed it. 

"You look like a fucking fish," laughed Michael. "Dude, I may not have been able to find you an army, but it doesn't mean I'm just going to leave. I'm coming with you in your Magical Land. I'm not the strongest fighter but I sure as hell know how to kill Vampires, I fought them enough."

"But... you can't..." stuttered Gavin. 

"Yeah, I can. Fucking shut you goddamn mouth, you're going to swallow a fly."

Gavin's eyes dropped to the floor. Michael sighed. 

"Thank you," said Gavin again.

"Yeah. I get it. You're grateful. Go to sleep, we're leaving tomorrow at dawn."

"Yes. Okay." Gavin got up. "But are you sure about this?"

"Go away!"

Gavin scampered out of the room. Once the door was closed Michael laid down on the bed, still all clothed. His armor was the lightest he owned but it still weighed quite a lot. Maybe it was pushing on his stomach and that was why he was feeling a little bit sick right now... Or maybe he was worried about going to his death and the probability that once done with Dryads, the Vampires would find a way to break into the human world. That was another possibility.

There was a knock on the door, and Michael groaned. 

"I told you to fucking go to sleep!"

"Really?" came Geoff's voice as he opened the door. "I didn't hear."

"Oh..." Michael sat back up. "Huh, sorry. I thought you were someone else."

"It's fine. So I take it you already talked to our fairy friend?"

"Yeah... I don't think he'd appreciate being called a fairy."

"Of course he wouldn't, but he didn't hear me so it's fine." Geoff sat on Michael's bed almost in the same place Gavin had, and if he didn't look quite as nervous as the Dryad he still seemed bothered. Michael wondered who decided tonight was fucking heart-to-heart night.

"I know you enough to know you'll go with him," said Geoff. Michael nodded, and Geoff laughed. "You play the tough guys but your heart's bigger than your bark."

"Fuck off," grumbled Michael. 

"Just tell me once thing : how much do you know about Dryads?"

"Huh... they're kinda frail-looking, their blood's awesome for Vampires, and they're like... magical."

"Yeah? What kind of magic?"

"I don't know. I just heard stuff here and there, could have been rumors. They trapped the Vampires with magic, right? Why are you even asking me this?"

"Not all Dryads have magical abilities. For whatever reason, their magic is dying out and they only have a few Magicians left."

"Well, Gavin's not one of them," said Michael with confidence. "His eyes almost popped out of his skull when you made that tree move, he sure as hell isn't used to seeing magic things."

Geoff 'hmmm'ed quietly. "The ones who aren't born with magic are born with something else. They have a sort of empathy -much less potent than in human empaths, but they still have the same powers... including the power of persuasion."

"Empathy, huh?" repeated Michael with a frown.

"There's a good chance Gavin's one of them," said Geoff, "and he's desperate."

Michael bristled slightly. He had an inkling about where this was going, and he didn't like it. "So?"

"So, Michael, you chose to follow this lad very quickly, didn't you? Barely met him today, already ready to kill yourself for him?"

"Not for him!" snapped Michael. "It's not like that Geoff, I'm not going to let fucking empathy, of all things, trick me. I'm going with him because I don't want to see an entire race reduced to ashes while I sit comfortably in the fucking Castle. I know what it's like to be at a Vampire's mercy and I don't want that to happen to anyone! I thought you of all people could understand that, can't you?"

"I just wanted to make sure," said Geoff, voice calm and slow. "I've only spent an hour with the guy, as opposed to your, what... three hours? I don't know him as well as you do, obviously."

"Shut down the sarcasm, please."

"Of course." Geoff patted Michael's leg. "I can see you're not under any kind of spell, I just wanted to make sure. You never know..."

Michael glared. "You know what do I know? I know that Dryads are cowards, who left with their tail between their legs when our Kingdom was being attacked and hid in their own world. I know they are weak and would sell their own mothers if it could somehow save their skin. That they are scavengers, deceivers and crooks. That's what we're all taught, right?"

"But you don't believe all of this," said Geoff.

"Nope, I don't. But do you?" A short silence before Michael went on with a sigh. "I understand that you don't want to go. I'm not going to accuse you of being a coward, it would be really fucking hypocritical of me. It's just... stop being so apathetic about it, stop acting as if you don't think they deserve our help!"

Geoff didn't answer his accusations. He looked at him, one corner of his mouth raised in a half-smile. "When are you leaving?" he asked.

"Dawn," said Michael quietly. 

"Fine," said Geoff, getting up. "Then we'll leave at dawn. I'll have to tell Jack, I'm pretty sure he'll want to make sandwiches..."

Michael stared. "What? You... you're coming?"

"Of course, I've already packed my things. Partly for the reasons you gave, and partly because I'm sure you'll die doing something stupid if there's no one to watch you. You didn't even pack enough gear, dude. You may have seen a lot but you're still so fucking young !"

Michael would have taken offence if only he wasn't so dumbfounded right now.

"And... and Jack? What...?"

"As much as I try, I can't get rid of him. Apparently, he doesn't trust me any more than I trust you. Whatever... a fire Elemental can be very fucking useful, you know. Plus, he's not bad company around a campfire, and his dad taught him a thing or two about medicine."

Geoff turned around and walked towards the door. He was stopped by Michael's sniggering. 

"What?" he asked.

"Two Elementals and one guard, going to fight a whole fucking army of Vampires..."

"Oh don't worry, I have a trick or two up my sleeve," promised Geoff. 

The way he smiled before closing the door behind him made Michael vaguely uncomfortable.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ♪~If you go out into the woods today.... you're gonna meet Ray.

The preparations for the trip were far from easy or organized, much to Jack's distaste. Michael and Gavin weren't sensible guys, they had barely packed anything useful to survive out there.

"I have my sword!" protested Michael.

"I've never seen you use it..."

"I've fought Vampires, dude!" said Michael angrily. "I know!"

Gavin looked at him. "Have you really fought Vampires?"

"I told you I used to be a soldier before I was a guard, dipshit," said Michael.

"But... you're young..."

"So?"

"Hey, Gavin," called Geoff as he adjusted his leather chest plate, "do you know how to defend yourself?"

"I know the theory," said Gavin uncertainly.

"Here."

Geoff took a dagger out of his belt and handed it to the Dryad, who looked at it with an odd expression on his face. He looked as lost as a hen who's just seen fried eggs.

"You will know what to do with it?"

"Huh... stab?" guessed Gavin.

"... Eh. That'll do for now. Come on, I'd rather we get to our destination before nightfall."

"Where are we going?" asked Michael.

"We're going to make a small detour before taking the bridge to the Black Forest," said Geoff, sliding a large satchel over his shoulder and adjusting the sword at his belt. "Everyone grab some bags and we're out! We have to be quick!"

Geoff turned around and walked out the door.

"But where are we going!" yelled Michael at the Elemental's retreating back. "Goddamnit..."

"Just trust him and go with it," said Jack as he quickly finished stuffing a bag with all of his father's old medical supplies.

It would have helped to have a water Elemental on the trip, he thought. He could muster up a few remedies but it was nothing compared to what those true healers could do, and he had the nagging feeling that healing was going to be needed. But water Elementals were few and precious to the community ; they were never left alone and even if one of them accepted to help, it wouldn't be long before it would be discovered. And then Geoff's grandfather would, in all likeliness, throw his whole army after them to stop them ever reaching the Dryad world.

Thus feeling dreadfully ill-equipped, Jack walked out of the house.

They started out silent, a little bit tense despite the spring-like quality to Geoff's steps. Jack knew him too well not to see through it. He was trying to look confident and sure of himself, but inside he was dreading this whole thing just as much if not more than Jack was. Plus, his disappearance from the village was going to look suspicious after a while, too...

Michael and Gavin were bringing up the rear, walking side by side. Jack hadn't seen Michael all that much, and even less since he'd become a guard. Him and Geoff hadn't talked in a long time and Jack wondered if they even knew each other that well anymore. It had been seven years since they'd been in the army together, and seven years since they had spent more than ten minutes together.

Gavin, for his part, looked hopeful. If the Dryad was happy about this ragtag bunch he'd managed to assemble, then the situation in his land must have been very dire indeed.

Geoff was the only skilled fighter in their group. Michael might have known how to wield a sword but he was young and impetuous, prone to mistakes... As for Jack himself, he had his fire but he tended to use it to light up the streets at night rather than burn someone to ashes. And if he managed to kill a few enemies, would he ever be good enough to kill them all? Fire is not hard to put out. In a forest, it would be more dangerous than helpful, anyway.

All in all, if asked why he'd tagged along, Jack wouldn't really know what to answer. But... what should he have done? Let his best friend go alone? They were all going to die, but Jack wouldn't know how to live with himself if he didn't try to prevent it.

Michael's voice cut through his thoughts.

"So? Where are we going?"

"I have a friend," said Geoff cryptically. "An influential friend."

"Who lives in the forest?"

Geoff was leading them towards a green forest in the distance. Actually, from afar it looked more black than green.

"Well, he doesn't really live in it..."

Michael was obviously frustrated by this answer. He seemed to consider getting angry, before giving up and going back to talk with Gavin.

"I didn't know you had friends in that forest," said Jack.

"He's not really a friend, to be honest..."

Jack sighed. "So you have a not-really friend who not-really lives in the forest?"

"Right."

"And he's not really influential?"

"Oh no, he's influential all right. Though maybe not the way you're thinking..."

Jack looked at the thick, black mass of trees. "Is he some kind of... hardcore earth Elemental?"

Geoff started giggling madly. "Do you really think once an earthie goes crazy he goes live in the forest? Do they have sex with trees too in your little head?"

"I don't know. You guys have weird moods"

"You can talk. Last time one of you went crazy, she set my grandfather's wig on fire!"

Jack laughed at the memory. Being the smartass he was Geoff had single-handedly been responsible for the news of that incident spreading through the entire village and making everyone laugh for about a week, creating much shame and embarrassment for the Chief.

"So, he's not an earth Elemental?" asked Jack after a few more steps.

"He's not an Elemental at all. You should stop thinking about it, you're going to hurt your brain."

"Fine..."

The day went without a hitch. Michael and Gavin's often-weird conversations offered a background noise as they trekked along a deserted dirt path.

By the time they had reached the forest, dusk was starting to fall. Everyone quieted down once they were under the cover of trees, looking around them a bit shiftily. The green around them was so dark that even up close it still looked black.

"This is... gloomy," said Gavin.

"You're supposed to be used to forests," said Michael.

"Ours is more colorful. This is..."

"Gloomy?" suggested Jack.

"Well, yeah."

"Geoff! Even the Dryad is worried now."

"I would hope so," said Geoff distractedly. "They have a freaky sixth sense and this forest is fucking creepy as dicks..."

He stopped quite suddenly, frowning at a particularly thick tree.

"What is it?" asked Jack, but Geoff motioned at him to shut up.

He stared at the tree some more, raising his head towards the branches. He walked around it slowly, pensively.

"What the fuck..." he muttered to himself. "You little shit..."

He made an intricate hand gesture and the tree moved. It shook its branches like a dog shaking water off its fur. Its leaves rustled and its wood creaked loudly enough to startle everyone, and another noise joined in -a yelp of fear and surprise.

A body fell down from high above and slid down the bark. Jack watched the guy land painfully on his back, head an inch away from the shoes of a very angry-looking Geoff.

He was young, with dark hair and big brown eyes and glasses askew on his nose. His clothes were old and torn and all black, making him virtually invisible in this forest.

The guy scrambled into a sitting position and looked fearfully at Geoff, then at the other three.

"Okay," he said. "I don't know what happened, but there's no need to get angry."

"I'm not angry," pointed out the Dryad stupidly.

"No you're not, but he's pissed off," said the guy, pointing at Geoff. Jack felt sorry for him -it wasn't fun being the subject of Geoff's ire.

The young guy suddenly glanced at Gavin and his pointy ears and multicolored eyes. "Oh wow, you're a Dryad!" His excitement quickly died down as Geoff took a menacing step towards him.

"That's your friend?" asked Michael.

"Obviously not," said Geoff. "Why are you killing this centuries-old tree?"

"I-what?" spluttered the guy, looking up at said tree. "I didn't kill it..."

"You're poisoning it! What the fuck are you dumping on its roots?"

"Oh... Oh!" he said. "That was... Is it really killing the tree?" Geoff nodded. "Shit... Look, I'm sorry," said the guy, raising his hands in defence. "I didn't mean to. I just had a, huh, medicine... that I spilled over it and huh, I didn't know it was poisonous. I swear!"

Geoff narrowed his eyes slightly, arms crossed on his chest. "Who're you, then? Why are you here?"

"My name is Ray. I just came here, I didn't have anywhere else to go. I climbed up the tree for the night, that's all. I was going to leave the forest tomorrow morning, honest! Is this your forest? I can't pay you for the tree, but I can, like, work for you or something until I've paid off my debt, or--"

"Don't be ridiculous, this forest isn't anyone's property," huffed Geoff. He looked at the tree and slowly put his hand on the thick bark. "But it is important, and whatever you put in this poor tree is spreading through it and it could infect others. I can't allow that to happen. I'm sorry..." The last words were addressed to the tree. A second later, it started to die under their eyes.

The bark cracked, the leaves trembled and withered. Dead nuts fell on the floor. A floury of little insects flew or ran out of it and as far away as they could.

Ray watched it all with consternation. "That's radical... I'm sorry!" he squeaked when Geoff's eyes snapped back to him. "I really didn't mean any harm!"

"Whatever, dude. Go away."

Ray nodded. He got up and ran away, as quickly as he could.

With a sigh, Geoff patted the dead tree. He turned to the others. "Come on, losers. We're not there yet."

They all started to walk again, bewildered and unsettled.


	4. Chapter 4

"How did he kill an entire tree like that?" asked Michael.

Gavin looked at the guard. "I guess he hurried its metabolism. The roots soaked up whatever poison was in the ground, and it spread through the whole tree a lot faster. Died on the spot."

"Ah. Makes sense."

"Did you notice anything weird about this Ray guy?" asked Gavin, stepping over an overgrown root without looking at it.

"He was nothing but weird," shrugged Michael. "Who the fuck just wanders in a forest as creepy as this? And what the fuck was he drinking that can kill it entirely?"

Gavin smiled. "I don't think he was dangerous. He's an empath."

Michael raised a surprised eyebrow. "Seriously? How do you know?"

"Felt it. We have a sort of low-level empathy thing as well."

"Yeah. Geoff told me. So you felt him feeling you?"

"Something like that."

Michael scrunched up his face. "Gross... Well, I guess that explains why he was alone in here, at least."

"Does it?" Gavin was confused. "How so?"

"Are you serious? He's a Human empath!"

"So?"

"Michael," called Geoff up ahead, "Dryads don't give a fuck about empaths, it's common as dicks for them. He won't get it."

"Get what?" asked Gavin.

Michael looked a bit uncomfortable now, for reasons Gavin couldn't fathom. "Well..." he started. "It's not common at all in Humans. It's veeery fucking rare, in fact. And it's not welcomed."

"Why not? It's handy!"

"Maybe if you have it on a low level and you know how to control it, like you," said Michael. "Human empaths get the full fucking deal. A lot of them can't control it at all, it shoots out of them like crazy. They start messing with other people's feelings. Most of them go mad because they can't cope. There was this town next to mine, right, it's in ruins now because years ago an empath went crazy and he mind-controlled everyone into fighting each other the death. He was the only one alive in the end, and when he was sentenced to death for his crimes he said it was a relief and he fucking laughed until he was hanged."

"Seriously?" asked Gavin, and Michael nodded. "You shun them and then blame them when they go crazy? That's horrible!"

"No, it's not... People don't want their minds read. Also, they don't want to go axe crazy."

"But your story's bollocks!" protested Gavin. "You'd need a ridiculous amount of raw anger to make a whole town turn rabid, nobody can do that! And empathy isn't mind-reading. The whole thing is just ridiculous. Your empaths just need proper education or something."

"Proper education 'or something'?" said Michael. "Thank you for the wonderful advice."

"It's not my society," said Gavin huffily. "You guys have to figure it out, not me!"

"He's got a point there," said Geoff.

"Ray is going to get to another village where no one knows his name and start a life here," said Jack. "He's going to be fine."

"Until someone else discovers his secret," pointed out Geoff. "Empaths typically aren't good at stealth, what with their habit of messing around with other people's brains. But it's not our problem, so shut up and walk."

Gavin kept on walking in sullen silence. He wanted to turn back around and run after Ray now, just to tell him it would be all right. Primarily because he wanted to disobey Geoff whose leader-like manners were starting to push on Gavin's nerves (who died and put him in charge?) ; but also because he had tasted what Humans were like when they wanted to shun you, and it was not something he wished on someone else. Even Michael seemed cool with pushing Ray away when he'd so readily accepted to help Gavin!

He looked over his shoulder. He could still feel Ray's presence, or at least traces of him. Poor guy was probably lost and going in circles, trying to get out of this forest.

He was so preoccupied that he did not see the squirrel on his path until it squeaked loudly and shrilly, making Gavin jump out of his skin.

"Bloody hell!" he yelped.

The animal was stood right on his path, its front paws raised up and its snout pointing at Gavin, sniffing him.

"Have you finished making friends?" asked Michael, looking at the animal dismissively.

"Don't give it anything to eat even if it's cute," warned Geoff.

But suddenly the small animal rose its hackles, fur thickening, hissing meanly, menacingly. It was gone a second later, running away like hell was after it. Gavin wondered what he'd done to scare it like that, but then a voice came from above him.

"Squirrels are assholes."

Everyone tensed, hands went towards weapons. Everyone, except Geoff who smiled slightly.

There was a guy sitting on a branch just above Gavin's head, carefree, bare feet kicking idly in the air. If Ray's clothes had been dark, it was nothing compared to this man's garments, contrasting wildly with his light grey skin. He had unkempt black hair and his brown eyes were as still as a thousand year-old rock and about as friendly. His fingers and toes ended in what were more claws than nails.

Under his gaze, Gavin felt himself wither much in the same way the leaves had done on the dying tree. A bad feeling settled itself in the pit of his stomach, dread swimming through his veins.

"Vampire!" he shouted.

He stumbled back, falling over in his haste to get away.

Michael drew out his sword and Jack made fire in his palm as both of them walked between Gavin and the Vampire, whose gaze was now moving from one to the other. His eyes took a red tint under the fire's glow. His head snapped back towards Gavin, and the Dryad whimpered, hands pulling at the dagger on his belt. The stupid thing was caught on something and refused to come. He was going to die. Right here right now. Torn to shreds.

Slowly, leisurely, as if imminent death was not an issue, Geoff walked in the middle of everyone with his arms raised. "Everyone, calm your dicks. Jack, cool down."

Jack looked at his flaming hand, then at the Vampire, then at Geoff. "What?"

"And Michael, put that away. You're going to take someone's eye out."

"Geoff, move!" yelled Michael. "He's going to get you!"

Geoff looked at him, observing him patiently. Waiting. Michael looked back, confused, until his eyes widened slightly.

"Oh," he said. He looked at the Vampire, still sitting on his branch and looking back calmly at him. "Are you fucking kidding me," said Michael flatly.

"I'm afraid not," said Geoff.

The Elemental turned to the Vampire who smiled, uncovering thin, pointy fangs, before jumping off his branch. He landed softly and efficiently, his black cloak swirled around him like ominous wings.

"Hello," he said simply. "Are those friends? Do you have friends, Geoff? I didn't know you were capable of it."

"Hey, Joel. Long time no see. They're not friends, just acquaintances."

"Hang on!" shouted Michael, waving his sword about. "Time out! Wait!" He pointed his weapon at the Vampire. "That's your friend, Geoff?"

"Acquaintance..."

"A Vampire!"

"Yeah!" Gavin managed to get back on his feet despite his wobbling knees. "A Vampire! Do you actually want to kill me? Is that what that is, an elaborate trap? I trusted you!"

"Calm down!" said Geoff. "It's fine. He's on our side! He is going to help us out."

"Am I?" said the Vampire. He certainly did not look ready to help anyone. Geoff turned to him, suddenly serious.

"We need to talk."

"I kind of figured. Social visits aren't your thing." The Vampire looked around, and sat down on a rock. "I'm listening. Oh by the way, Jack -you're Jack, right? Your hand's still burning."

"Oh." Jack shook his hand to put the fire ball out.

"So?" prompted Joel. "What are you doing here with a Dryad?"

Gavin twitched. Michael stepped closer to him, a solid and reassuring presence.

Geoff went straight to the point. "Vampires are regrouping."

"What?" said Joel curtly.

"They managed to break through the Dryads' defences, in their own forest. Killed a few of them."

"That's-that's--" Joel stopped himself and rubbed a distraught hand on his face. "That's weird. They're powerless! You defeated them -and you," he pointed at Gavin, "you threw them all in prison or whatever. They can't break out! How did they manage that?"  
Under the reddish stare, Gavin was trying his best not to curl up on himself to protect his neck. He managed to find his voice. 

"I don't know? They just did. They drank our blood."

"Which means they're getting stronger," said Geoff. "We need your help."

There was a slight silence while Joel looked at every one of them with eyes narrowed and lips pinched. 

"Right," he said finally. "Am I right in assuming you guys are going all four-guys-army on a whole pack of Vampires?" 

Geoff nodded. "The King refused to lend any help. He didn't believe little Gavin over there."

Joel passed his hands through his hair. "Right," he repeated. "I have to say, that's a little hard to believe. They should be starving, I don't understand how they could have found the strength to break out... And you're asking me to give up my tranquil life here to help you kill them?"

"Yes."

"And you have no plan."

"Not _yet_ ," stressed Geoff. "We need you for that. We need your insight."

"And you're the only people in this whole Kingdom standing between a hundred Vampires and possible enslavement of everyone in the Dryads' world and possibly the Humans' too."

"Nice summarisation. What do you say?"

Joel looked at him a second, and smiled. His fangs glistened. 

"You know I have a soft spot for Dryads."

"All right," said Geoff as Gavin backed away in fear, "let's clear that up once and for all : Joel doesn't drink. He's just trying to fuck with you."

"Ever? Not even a glass of water?" asked Gavin, genuinely curious.

"God, you're so fucking stupid..."

"I think he means blood, specifically," supplied Jack helpfully. "Though Vampires don't need water..."

"But that's not possible," said Gavin. "They can't live without blood."

"Says who?" said Joel. "Have you ever stopped to ask a Vampire about it?" Gavin shook his head negatively. "Quite right too," said Joel, "because he would probably have drunk you dry before you could open your mouth. You're right though, usually we can't do it, but I'm unusual and I found a way. But I have to say, you do look appetizing, Dryad. But that's just, you know, your general appearance or whatever... I can't stop my instincts from reacting, right? Like when you see a juicy steak--"

"Joel."

"What?"

"Stop bullshitting him," sighed Geoff, "you're going to make him shit his pants. Are you in or not? I need to know. Right now, please."

Joel shrugged. "You wouldn't have come here if you weren't sure I would accept." He stood and looked at Gavin with a slight frown. Gavin felt himself instinctively move back. One more step and he would disappear behind Michael. "Sorry about the steak thing, I was joking. It's easy for me to ignore you, you're safe. Well, from me anyway. I don't know what else might be trying to eat you on the way to your Black Forest or whatever."

"Old Oak forest," corrected Gavin automatically.

"That's pompous, you lot need to rename that. Geoff, I have a plan for you."

"What, already?"

Joel pursed his lips, reconsidering. "Well, I have... the start of an idea about how to have a plan."

"I'll take it."

"I know another Vampire--" Gasps interrupted Joel. "Relax. Ryan's going to help as well -better even, than I would ever do. He's smart and he's stronger than I am."

"How many Vampires are there in this fucking forest?" said Michael. "Do you plan on bringing more of them along?"

Geoff was looking at Joel. "You were supposed to be the only one," he said gratingly.

"Yes, and I am. He's not here. His permanent quarters are in the other part of the forest. After the Field."

" _The_ Field?" said Michael. 

"That Field."

"What field?" asked Gavin, but he was ignored.

"That's not a good place to live," mumbled Michael.

"He likes it," said Joel. "So? What do you say? Well, it's not like you are in any position to refuse one more man in your little army, but I thought I'd ask anyway."

"Nice of you," said Geoff. He looked around. "That's okay with all of you?"

"So now you're asking for our opinion?" groaned Michael. "Couldn't have done that before we met the Vampire you were hiding under your bed?"

"Oh, you don't want me to take opinions?" asked Geoff sarcastically. "Fine then, I won't. Lead on, Joel. Let's meet your buddy."

"He's not my buddy," said Joel. He spun on himself a few moments, looking around. Then pointed in one direction. "That way. I think." 

Geoff followed, then Jack with a resigned sigh. Gavin watched them go. He had no idea what he had just walked into... One Vampire was already more than he could handle. But two of them? He shivered. Was he accidentally plotting his own death?

Something touched his wrist and he jumped with a little cry. It was only Michael, looking at him with slight concern.

"Hey. You coming?"

Gavin gulped nervously. "I-huh... I won't be safe, will I?"

"Why?"

"Michael, what if they attack me during the night?"

Michael sighed. "I trust Geoff," he said. His voice was unwavering, so full of confidence. Gavin could even feel it ; Michael's trust towards the earth Elemental was strong. "If he says Joel is cool, then he's cool... Listen, if it makes you feel safer, I'll stand guard over you during the night. Okay?"

"But... You need to sleep."

"Then I'll sleep next to you. Whatever. I'm a very light sleeper, I'll wake up at the tiniest sound."

Gavin was far from convinced. "Vampires are quiet.... They sneaked on my entire village, Michael. We have better hearing than you!"

"Tiniest sound, dude," repeated Michael, undeterred. "I'll wake up. I know how Vampires operate, I fought an army of them, remember? And Joel looks dopey, I can totally take him. So : you coming?"

He held out a hand. Gavin looked at it, warm, the skin rough and battered by manual labor and combat.

He took it.


	5. Chapter 5

Ray hurried through the thick foliage. Night was closing around him. He could feel the group's emotions, all of them mixed together in a great big soup. These weird guys were feeling so many contradicting things at the same time, intense emotions and petty ones, ups and downs, it was exhausting to keep track of.

He soon found himself way too tired to continue. His head was spinning, his mind dulled by fatigue and hunger. He had to stop before he collapsed.

He looked around him, found a sort of natural shelter made by dead trees fallen on top of each other. He could get under that... and hope the earth Elemental didn't find him and make the trees choke him to death in his sleep or something.

All the things that could go bump in the night were starting to do just that. Ray heard a noise far too close to him.

"Fuck it," he muttered, and he dove into the trees.

He curled on himself, arms over his ears to block out the freaky sounds of the night, and tried to sleep.

A strange hiss echoed. Ray's eyes flew back open and scanned the dark desperately. If it were Human, he would have felt them. Wolves? ...Vampires? He had heard the group talk about Vampires. Were there really Vampires around here?

The hiss came again. It was followed by a cough and the sound of someone clearing their throat. Ray turned around swiftly.

There were two orbs in the dark, two shiny round eyes looking at him from further inside the shelter.

"Fur balls," said a polite voice from somewhere below those eyes. "They're a nightmare. Am I bothering you? I'm sorry."

Ray stayed silent, tense and ready to bolt at the first sign of... anything. How the fuck hadn't he noticed there was someone in here with him?! He should have felt them! Another sound reached his ears, the sound of... well, it sounded like purring, only a lot louder.

"You can go back to sleep," said whoever had shiny eyes. "But you might as well let me pass through if you're awake? I need to get out, hunt something. I slept all day."

Still Ray did not move, but the person in front of him didn't mind. The eyes came closer, and something soft and furry pushed Ray to the side - and then the thing, whatever or whoever it was, hopped out. Ray turned around just in time to see a giant cat under the moonlight as it ran off into the shadows. It was the size of a very large wolf, might even have been a freaking tiger, Ray wasn't sure. He didn't want to know.

He hesitated. He could run out of this hole and find somewhere else to hide, somewhere with no tigers... But then, he might fall on something else ; something that decided to kill him directly without making small-talk beforehand. Or, beforepaw.

He hugged his knees close and kept his eyes wide open. He was going to stay here and stay awake all night, just in case the cat came back. And if it did... well, he'd think of something then.

His stomach growled painfully.

_***_

They had been walking in silence, tired and weary, until Geoff declared it was too dark to go on. Michael and Gavin helped Jack with the fire, gathering rocks and wood while Joel and Geoff went off to hunt and get fresh water.

Michael sat on the grass, looking distractedly at how Gavin was huddling as close to the fire as he possibly could without going up in flames himself.

"Cold?" asked Michael.

"Somewhat," said Gavin. He got his blanket out of his bag and wrapped it around him.

A few seconds of silence passed. Michael's stomach growled.

"When have you fought Vampires?" asked Gavin out of the blue. Michael raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"You're too young to have fought in the last War. Geoff too! But you both say you've fought armies of them."

Michael leaned back against a tree, tired legs spread out before him.

"I said army, not armies. I fought in the Battle of the Field."

"What Battle?"

"You haven't heard of the Battles?" asked Jack.

"No..."

"Seriously?" Michael had a hard time believing his own ears. A whole chapter of history filled with blood and guts and gore, gone unnoticed. "Man, how fucking sheltered are you lot?"

"I-I don't know... I just never heard of it."

Michael didn't know where to begin. He hardly knew everything there was to tell, either. Geoff would have been a better story-teller, but Michael certainly wasn't going to be the one to ask Geoff about the wars.

To his mild surprise, Jack was the one to take over the story.

"After the Great Vampire War, when you Dryads finally came to the Humans' help and imprisoned the Vampires we didn't manage to kill, you missed a few of them."

"Did we really?" Gavin looked appalled.

"Well, yeah you guys didn't do a very thorough job," said Michael. "There weren't a lot of them, mind you. I think there was like, one Battle before I was born and then one when I was eighteen."

"There were two of them before the one you fought in," corrected Jack. "But they were small groups. Ten Vampires at most, starving, disorganised and only animated with vengeance, they didn't have a plan to take us out or anything like that. Those were eradicated with only a few losses."

"Yeah. The one I fought in was the biggest, and the last too. A real freaking Army!"

"Their last offence," supplied Jack darkly. "One last attack where they gathered all their troops all over the Kingdom in hope of defeating the Humans once and for all. It was a smaller army than the one of the Great War, but they were almost as vicious. They had found a leader, a real son of a bitch behind whom they could rally."

Gavin seemed to have scooted even closer to the fire, somehow. He was hanging to their every words, fascinated.

Jack went on, "Geoff fought in the last two Battles. His mother was chieftain of the Elementals' Army and General in the Kingdom's Army, he's been in the army since he's born... Michael signed up because he had nothing better to do."

"Really?" asked Gavin.

"Well I was eighteen and had been told the Battles were easy to manage, what do you want me to do? I was bored as hell in my little farmer's town! Anyway, that's where Geoff and I met. I ended up under his command for a while."

"So... what happened?" asked Gavin.

"What happened?" Michael shrugged. "We got cornered in a forest that became a field -that Field Joel was talking about. Weird fucking place... Then we fought. We lost a lot of people. But we won. Geoff cut off the Vampire leader's head."

"Ugh..." Gavin grimaced.

"Yup. He had every right, too... the fucking Vampires took him prisoner for a while, you know. Him, the General, and a couple of other Humans in our platoon. They tortured them, I think -Geoff never told me about it, but you just have to look at his arms."

"What about his arms?"

Jack sighed. "You're not very observant, are you?"

"The Vampires kept them wherever for whatever reason," Michael went on, "then they decided to slit the prisoners' throats in public to scare us all into surrendering. They killed the General first, in front of what was left of our army. They were ready to kill Geoff too but then we charged and we fucking destroyed them!"

"You killed them all?"

Michael nodded. "Yeah. Well, their leader escaped and once the battle was over we realized that Geoff and another girl weren't here, but Geoff reappeared like two days later holding the Vampire leader's head in his hands! It was amazing."

"What about the girl?"

Michael paused. He cleared his throat. "Meh, she's around," he said as casually as he could. "She escaped and ran away to some little village in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere."

"Did she help Geoff kill the Vampires?"

"I don't fucking know, I wasn't there!" grumbled Michael. "She was somewhere with him and then she hightailed it and I never saw her again. That's all I know. If you want more about it, go fucking ask her."

Gavin wisely decided against asking more questions. Maybe his empathy-thingy had made him pick up on Michael's sudden mood change -mood change which Michael fucking hated.

He had no qualms talking about the Battle. It had been gory, he'd seen people he knew die before his eyes. He'd been scared fucking shitless for his life and others'... but now it was over, and Michael prided himself on being able to leave the past in the past and not let it invade his present. He knew a couple of soldiers who had never come out of it, their minds stuck in the battle field, reliving the scariest moments of their lives over and over again. Michael was not one of them and would never be.

Except on one point, and that annoyed him to no ends. All it took was the smallest mention of *her*, and suddenly it triggered a flood of memories. He could see her face and her smile, he could remember her voice, and he remembered the pain when he'd learned she'd gone back home without saying a word. He'd been so scared for her during her time in captivity that it had made him sick, but she hadn't deemed it necessary to even come to see him afterwards. All he knew was what Geoff had told him : she'd got away unscathed, and had simply decided to leave Michael behind.

He had tried to forget about her, and when that hadn't worked he had at least resolved to let the memories fade away on their own. But they never did. Seven years on, and simply acknowledging she existed was still as painful as ever. He had to think about something else...

He crossed his arms on his knees and put his chin on them, watching morosely as Gavin and Jack talked some more about the wars. Jack was explaining how Geoff and him met, his dad being the water Elemental who'd nursed Geoff back to health after the Battle. Michael listened carefully, even though he already knew the story.

Her bright smile flashed in his mind without being invited. Michael twitched uncomfortably. He closed his eyes and focused on blocking the memories. Stop torturing yourself, Michael Jones! She has obviously never liked you like you liked her!

"Hey, you sleeping?" said Joel's voice.

Michael opened an eye. The Vampire had come back from hunting and walked up to Michael without making a sound. Sneaky motherfucker. He was holding three dead rabbits out to Michael and looking at him pointedly.

"What?" asked Michael.

"You need to prepare those if you want to eat."

"Why don't you do it?"

"I find it disgusting, to be honest."

"What? You just killed them!"

"It's not the same as skinning them!"

"What the fuck is your deal, dude?! You're a Vampire!"

"So?" Joel thrust the rabbits right in Michael's face. "I don't eat, I don't care if you cook it with or without fur."

"All right, all right!" Michael relented. "You don't need to smear corpses all over my face, I'll do it. Where's Geoff?"

"Here," said Geoff's voice just before Geoff himself came out of the trees holding water skins filled to the brink.

Gavin turned to him, and Michael saw the Dryad's eyes narrow as they paused on Geoff's arms. He saw his gaze follow the pattern of the tattoos, and he smiled when those iridescent eyes widened in a mixture of awe and horror.

Gavin had finally seen them ; the scars hiding underneath the ink, lost in the neat shapes and careful drawings covering them so expertly. They ran up and down the arms, crisscrossing in places. Long, jagged ; the skin around some of them was sometimes damaged and tumid, signs that the wounds had not been properly taken care of before they had been allowed to heal. Ugly scars painted over with beautiful patterns.

Geoff noticed Gavin's stare and looked down at his own limbs as if he was expecting to see something new. Assured there was nothing out of the ordinary, he shrugged and came sit next to Michael to help him with the rabbits.

"So, what did you dicks talk about while we were away? Did you braid each other's hair around the campfire?"

"We talked about the war," answered Jack.

"Huh," said Geoff. "Did you? That's a mirthful topic."

"We are going to war after all," pointed out Jack. "It seems appropriate to talk about it."

A slight silence followed his words.

Geoff looked at him. "Way to kill the mood, dude."

Jack huffed, but he shut up.

Michael was watching Joel, sitting on his own on the other side of the fire. His reddish eyes were fixed on Gavin, and the Dryad was obviously ill at ease.

"Hey, Joel!" he called. "Do you wanna look elsewhere?"

Joel turned to him. "Sorry." He smiled apologetically, and lay down in the grass and mud, his arms crossed behind his head. He closed his eyes, for whatever reason. Vampires did not sleep and everyone knew that, so why pretend?

"Why didn't you tell us about Joel?" asked Jack after a while.

Geoff shrugged. "I didn't know how you guys would react to him."

"And you're sure he's safe?"

"I can hear you, you know," said Joel without moving.

"He's safe," said Geoff with assurance. "He's part of the reason why I'm still alive today. I trust him. You better trust him too."

"I'm touched," snickered Joel. Eyes closed as they were, he didn't see the obscene mime Geoff made in his general direction.

Jack stopped asking questions. Evidently, Geoff saying he trusted Joel was enough for him. Michael was inclined to follow his lead, but... Geoff always seemed to be plotting something behind everyone's back, and it annoyed him. Michael trusted him, of course he did, but sometimes he had to remind himself why he would trust Geoff and his habit of never saying what he meant or meaning what he said. Sometimes -just sometimes- Michael felt his faith waver.

Gavin attracted Michael's attention by asking him a stupid question, to which he was quite happy to answer. Stupid conversations chased everything away -war, sleeping Vampires, secretive Elementals, gloomy forests, scars, Lindsay and her disappearing act. They all faded away.

For now.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack awoke with a crick in his neck and a sheen of dew on his skin. All his clothes were damp. Next to him, Michael, who had taken the last watch of the night, was idly drawing things in a patch of mud with a stick. Geoff and Joel were nowhere to be seen, and to be honest, Jack was almost expecting it. Those two apparently liked to go kill stuff together.

There was, however, yesterday's little squirrel sniffing around the dwindling campfire, trying to find food.

Gavin was the only one still asleep and he was shivering. Jack roused the fire with a click of his fingers. The squirrel jumped back with a shrill little shriek of surprise, and Gavin opened an eye with an ungraceful grunt and looked blearily around him.

"Morning," he said, his voice scratchy.

"Morning," answered Jack. He took a small piece of bread from his bag and offered it to the squirrel. "Slept well, Gav?"

"Hmm... it's bloody cold and humid in here."

"Forests tend to be."

"It hasn't been that cold," said Michael. "You've got a blanket and everything!"

"Yeah..."

Michael didn't seem to pay attention, but Jack certainly caught the uneasiness in the Dryad's demeanour. He decided not to attract attention to it, at least not for now.

In one quick, nervous move the squirrel grabbed the bread from Jack's fingers, and hopped away into the forest.

As Michael and Gavin went off into one of their own nonsensical conversations, Jack stood and stretched, and looked around. There was a bit of stew from last night left over in a small pot, good enough to heat up for breakfast. Or at least it had been, until Joel appeared out of fucking nowhere and plunged a finger right in it.

"What are you doing!" shouted Jack.

"Tasting," answered Joel, surprised by the outburst.

"Tast--you can't taste it! Your taste buds are dead!"

"It doesn't hurt to check." Joel licked his finger and smacked his lips. "Yep, still can't taste it. Don't worry, my hands are completely clean."

"How would I know that? Where were you off to, have you killed something?"

"No. I just went ahead a bit to clear the way. We're almost out of my territory. I haven't seen Ryan in a while, I wonder how far his has stretched..."

"That's the Vampire who's supposed to help us, right?" asked Michael. "You guys have territories?"

"Well, you have to mark your territory when you live in the wild with all sorts of animals around, right..."

Gavin looked at him, slightly horrified. "And you do that by...?"

Joel smiled, uncovering his teeth. "Guess."

"...Ewww..."

"Fucking great!" Michael jumped to his feet. "So there's a possibility I slept in Vampire piss?!"

Jack rolled his eyes. They had learnt literally the day before that Joel never drank and they both knew Vampires never ate, and they both still went straight to bodily wastes without realizing Joel was fucking with them. If those two idiots could win a war, there was hope for everyone.

He went to pick up the pot and put it on the fire.

"Also..." started Joel.

"What?"

"There's a cat."

Jack, Michael and Gavin swivelled around. They all froze still as statues as a great big orange cat walked out of the cover of the trees. For a second Jack thought it was a big tiger, but as it came closer it became very clear that it was an actual cat, a fluffy cat with a pink snout and everything -only several times bigger than it should have ever been. Its yellow eyes quickly appraising each of them, its paws the size of Jack's head hitting the ground at a calm, controlled pace.

Jack regained control of his mind and summoned fire in his palm as Michael grabbed his sword with one hand, pulling Gavin to his feet in case they needed to flee. Being eaten by a wild cat when you were out to kill Vampires had something ridiculous about it, even if the cat came up to your chest.

Joel, meanwhile, simply walked towards the animal without a hint of fear. "Hi. How are you?"

"Hello," answered the cat.

Jack's jaw came close to hitting the ground. He looked at Michael.

"The pet just talked."

Jack had never seen a cat look *offended*, but if he had to guess what it would look like, it would be exactly what he was seeing right now.

"I am nobody's pet! Who do you think you are?" snapped the cat.

"Don't pay attention to them," dismissed Joel. "They're rude. Won't even let you make sure if your taste buds are still dead. What do you want?"

"I was looking for you lot, actually."

"Really? Why?"

"You have a tail."

Joel frowned. "No, you have a tail."

"I mean, someone's tailing you. Found him in my shelter yesterday evening, followed him around for a bit this morning and he's clearly trying to get to you guys. Thin dude, dark clothes. Nervous all the time."

"That's Ray!" exclaimed Gavin. "I knew I could still feel him!"

"That's really gross" mumbled Michael.

"Yes, well. He's currently starving," said the cat. "I don't know why or how you know him, but it'd be great if you had something to give him to eat. I don't think I can convince him to try raw meat any time soon."

"I don't know him," said Joel. He turned around to look quizzically at them.

Jack cleared his throat uselessly.

"We met him yesterday. He was poisoning a tree, apparently. Geoff took care of it and told him to go away, I have no idea why he followed us... nor why Gavin didn't tell us about it."

"I'm not good enough to be sure if he was still here or if I was just picking up on residues," said Gavin dismissively. "We can't leave him to starve, can we? We can spare a few things!"

"No we can't," said Michael curtly.

Jack managed to tear his eyes away from the big cat. "No, Gavin's right. He obviously didn't mean any harm to the poor tree, it would be cruel to make him pay with his life..."

The cat nodded. "Should I bring him over here, then?"

"Yeah. Huh. If you'd be so kind."

"Sure, no problem."

The cat waved before turning around and Jack gave a nervous giggle. The cat had actually waved at them!  
It disappeared into the forest with a few giant-cat's steps.

Joel looked at them. "So, that was Joe."

_***_

For some strange reason, Geoff couldn't find it in him to be surprised.

Maybe it was a sign that he had seen far too many stupid things in his life.Maybe it was the start of a bad joke, and he hadn't been warned that he was its punchline... Something like, "Two idiots, a Dryad, a guy who's poisoned a tree, a giant orange cat that seems to be talking, and a Vampire share breakfast around a campfire... how long until Geoff loses his mind?"

He walked into the little clearing with resolved steps. He'd decided to accompany those idiots, now he had to live with the consequences. Even if said consequences included a fluffy monster of a cat greeting him very politely and introducing itself as Joe.

"Okay... hi," said Geoff.

Gavin smiled broadly, enthusiastically. "Joe brought Ray to us."

"Right... and what the fuck is he doing here?" snapped Geoff. "I thought I told him to get lost!"

"Well, I did get lost," said Ray. He looked uncomfortable, sitting next to Gavin and clearly avoiding any kind of eye contact with both Joel or Michael. "I mean, technically. I was following your... erm... well I was following you, but got confused and I lost you. Briefly."

"You were following us? Why!"

"I just... didn't have anything else to do."

Geoff took a deep breath. It was time to get to the bottom of this, or something was telling him he would not get rid of the kid. He went to sit down beside Joel, who had been watching the whole thing with an amused smile.

He looked Ray square in the eyes. "Okay. We know you're an empath, that you probably fled from somewhere. I don't care about where or why. But I want to know why are you here of all places, what exactly did you do to that tree and -honestly, why are you following us? Start talking."

Ray looked down at his half-eaten stew. He took a deep breath.

"I just thought I could follow you around for a while. You just looked interesting, okay? I didn't really mean to snoop on you, but you looked weird and I was curious and I had nothing else to do and then a giant fucking cat appeared and threatened me into coming here for breakfast..."

"You were starving," said Joe. "I don't like leaving people to starve around me."

"Whatever," said Ray. "I just... There's a town not far from here, you know? I was just wandering around, and I met an old hag who said she had been an empath herself, but she was cured now. She said she would sell me the remedy for whatever money I could give her. It was a small vial full of black liquid stuff. She said if I drank it, it would mute my abilities forever."

"That's what you poured on the tree?" guessed Jack. "Empathy remedy?"

Ray nodded. "It smelt horrible. I got scared. I stupidly took it when she offered, but then I chickened out..."

"Yeah," said Geoff. "It would have killed you. Painfully."

"Why would someone do that!" shouted Gavin indignantly. "Why would she give you poison? That's horrible!"

"There's a whole black market for it," said Jack.

"For poisons?"

"For supposed remedies against empathy. Until proven otherwise, though, none of them have ever worked."

"But.. why! Why do that!"

Michael chuckled quietly, darkly. "Dude, you're way too soft for this world."

"Money is why they do that," said Geoff. "Sell it at a stupidly high cost to desperate empaths who are tired of being rejects of society. A lot of them don't even care, in the end, if it's poison or not."

"It cures you or you die," said Ray in a tiny voice. "Either way, your problems disappear."

"But that-that's just--" Gavin stammered, too shaken up by what he had just learnt. Michael was right, the guy was way too soft for this world.

Gavin ended up giving up on words altogether and simply put an arm around Ray's shoulders.

The empath seemed completely floored by the gesture. He almost dropped his bowl in his surprise, catching it at the last moment. He stiffened against Gavin's one-armed hug and refused to relax, but he did not pull away either. Geoff watched him, and suddenly all his frustration and anger towards the kid melted away.

Joe's contemplative voice cut through the strained silence. "Humans. You are way too complicated."

"Aren't they?" said Joel. "They're like a ball of yarn, except the yarn is made of complicated things, and a cat has played with it and now it's all tangled together. That's what they are."

"You need to work on your metaphors," suggested Geoff. "So, Ray. Now you are not in danger of starving any time soon, what do you plan on doing? Follow us, the weirdos, some more? Just for your information, we are going to war. Against Vampires."

Ray's head snapped up at him. "You what?! Against..." His eyes darted towards Joel, then back to Geoff, back to Joel, and back again to Geoff. He gulped. "That's why I can't feel him, isn't it?" he asked shakily. "He's one of them?"

"Don't worry," said Gavin, "Joel's on our side! ... I guess."

"Complication after complication," lamented Joe. "I'm starting to agree with Joel's metaphor."

Jack frowned at him. "Aren't you giant... cat... things concerned by a war against Vampires?"

"A world ruled by Vampires would be less pleasant than one ruled by humans," admitted Joe, "but on the whole it doesn't change much for us, personally."

"Really?" asked Michael. "Don't Vampires eat you when they're bored or something?"

"No. At least most of them don't." He looked pointedly at Joel, who rolled his eyes.

"I told you already : Ryan doesn't drink anything clever. You're safe."

"I only have your word for it."

"He hunts only as much as you do! He's never gone overboard, has he?"

"Not yet."

"I want to help."

Everyone turned towards Ray. He had finally looked up from his stew, Gavin's arm still around his shoulders.

"Sorry?" asked Geoff.

"I want to help," Ray repeated, sure of himself.

"You barely know what we're doing!"

"No offence, but you don't seem to know what you're doing either," said Ray.

"I take offence to that," said Michael.

"Look, I have nothing else to do, and you just told me Vampires are attacking. I want to help, if I can. I'm not a talking cat, I don't think I'd like being ruled by thirsty blood suckers."

"I didn't say I'd like it," pointed out Joe. "I'd like to help as well."

Geoff looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

Ray pouted. "You sound a lot more enthusiastic all of a sudden."

"'No offence', but help from a massive, clawed cat seems more helpful than help from a scrawny guy who doesn't know how to hold a sword."

"Ray doesn't have to be on the battlefield," said Joe. He stood to his full, relatively impressive height. "I have a proposition to make. A friend of mine wants to free a few animals a group of poachers has managed to capture. I think Ray would be ideal to help us out. And if you help him, my friend will help you in return. He really likes Humans -as long as they don't kill uselessly, that is- and likes Dryads even more."

"Another giant cat?" asked Michael.

"Oh, no. He's a falcon." Joe didn't seem to notice the stunned silence that followed. He continued, "He's fought Vampires before, he knows them. Would you accept his help?"

"Hell yeah!" exclaimed Geoff.

Ray stood and gave his half-empty bowl to Jack. "Thank you for the meal," he said humbly. He turned to the cat. "If I help you out, then we come back here with your friend. That's right?"

"Yes."

Ray nodded. "All right."

"Are you sure?" asked Geoff. "It is dangerous, and you're no fighter."

"I won't put him in useless danger," promised Joe.

Ray looked at each of them in turn. He smiled.

"Heh. I'll do it. I have nothing to lose, right?"

"No, I don't think you do," said Geoff slowly, sadly.

Joe seemed overjoyed. "Perfect! We'll accompany you through the forest, we will split up then and get the poachers while you get Joel's friend. It should be faster and more efficient."

"You talk just like my mother," grumbled Geoff.

"I will take that as a compliment."

"You should," said Joel, "his mother killed half the Vampire population by herself."

There was something really fucked up about his life, Geoff thought as he watched a giant talking cat offering himself as a baggage carrier, and Jack packing up the bags and strapping them to his back. But he'd accepted it a long time ago.


	7. Chapter 7

As far as cats went, Joe was very easygoing and friendly. He was not very knowledgeable about Humans and barely knew anything at all about Dryads, but he seemed eager to learn.

"We live recluse," he explained. "There aren't a lot of us "giant animal things" as you say, and we prefer to stay hidden. Most of us are hiding in the Dryads' world nowadays."

"I'm sure it's safer," said Michael. "If poachers are walking around those woods."

"We spend most of our time trying to look after the other animals," said Joe. "It's sort of our duty, seeing as we are the ones who can understand Humans and others."

"Can you talk with the animals then?" asked Gavin.

Joe nodded. "I don't know if "talk" is the right word, but we can communicate, yes. As much as any animals can communicate."

"Oh that's awesome," said Michael. "I've always wanted to be able to talk to the dog back at my parents' farm. Just to tell him how much I hated him. He kept pooping on my bed..."

"Where's Ray?" asked Gavin, looking around.

Ray was behind, quite a few paces behind in fact. Huffing and puffing. Gavin and Joe stopped to look at him. Michael kept going, only slowing down a little.

"Are you all right?" asked Gavin.

Ray didn't answer. He walked until he met with them and stopped, his hands on his knees, panting.

"That's what happens when you don't eat anything for days," grumbled Joe. "You can't even walk properly!"

"I don't-I can't-I---..." Ray gave up on speech, swaying his hand in a move that Gavin deciphered as meaning "fuck off".

Joe growled softly. He crouched low on the ground.

"Hop on," he said.

"What... Seriously?" said Ray, looking dubious. "Is that, like... allowed?"

"I'm the one allowing it!" said Joe. "Hop on! We'll go a lot faster that way."

Hesitantly, awkwardly, Ray threw one leg over the cat and grabbed the thick fur, navigating around the few bags slung over Joe's back. He gave a small yelp when Joe stood back up, his cat-legs apparently strong enough to easily support all the weight.

"It's only for a short time," said Joe. "Just until you get your breath back."

"Yeah... Okay.... thanks."

"Aw shit," groaned Michael. "We lost the others, now. Well done."

Gavin looked around, at the vast expanses of greenery. Which had, incidentally, become greener and less dark as they walked on.

"No, they're just a little further." Joe started walking. Ray tightened his hold on the fur and folded his legs to stop them dragging on the ground -cat was big, but still not a horse. "I can smell them."

"Handy," remarked Michael.

"Hmm, they've stopped," said Ray. "They're pissed off that we disappeared though..."

"Creepy," mumbled Michael. His steps deviated slightly, away from Ray.

Ray lowered his eyes and fell silent. Gavin stopped walking.

"Ray's not creepy, shut up. It's useful."

Michael glanced at the empath, who was very purposefully not looking at them, his lips pinched.

"Look, I'm sorry, but it's creepy. Nobody likes their emotions to be exposed like that!"

"Ray just wanted us to be ready to face Geoff's anger, it's not like he told you all the nuances of his innermost thoughts!"

Michael stepped back a little. "He can do that?"

"Gavin," said Ray softly. "Leave it..."

"No! You're not creepy, and if Michael has a problem maybe he should go away!"

"What are you idiots doing?" called Geoff, appearing from between two bushy trees. "We're not on holidays, get a move on!"

Michael narrowed his eyes at Gavin. The guard could be very intimidating for sure, but Gavin did not move. He squared his jaw and stepped closer to Joe and Ray.  
Michael turned around with a huff.

"I'm coming, Geoff," he said simply, and he walked ahead without looking back.

Geoff stared after him, before looking at Gavin. "Something wrong?"

"Yeah. Michael's an arsehole."

"Oh." Geoff frowned. "Ah, whatever. I don't want to get involved. Just catch up with the rest of us and don't fall back, all right? I won't be coming for you every five minutes just because you and Michael are pulling each other's pigtails."

"It's my fault," said Ray. "Sorry. I fell behind, they waited for me."

"I don't care. Just come on." Geoff turned around. "Honestly, it's like I'm raising three kids now."

Joe followed him placidly. "Come along, Gavin."

Gavin moved, morose.

"Why don't you defend yourself?" he asked Ray. "You can't be okay with being treated like that!"

"Michael doesn't mean it... and I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be!" said Gavin animatedly. "You shouldn't get used to anything like that, it's not normal!"

"They're all scared of m--"

"Stop that," cut Gavin. "We have empaths too -I'm an empath, and I have never been mistreated for it. When an empath is born we take them in and we raise them accordingly. We don't send them away! We don't-we don't put them in a situation where their only exit is some stupid poison! That's not how it should be. Why can't anyone see that? Joe, tell him!"

Joe walked on silently, not even acknowledging he was being talked to. Michael was far ahead now, walking side by side with Jack.

"How do they raise you?"

Gavin tore his disapproving gaze off of Joe to look at Ray. "What?"

"You said your people would raise empaths accordingly. What do they do?"

"We see other empaths," said Gavin. "Older people who know how to control this. We learn from them."

"So you can control it?"

Ray's tone was insistent. Gavin slowed down a little.

"Sort of," he said. "But my empathy is nothing compared to yours... Mine's easy to suppress."

"You can suppress it?" Ray's eyes went big. "Really?"

"Yeah, I can. But I told you, it's only--"

"Teach me!"

Gavin stopped walking. Ray twisted to keep eye contact with him, forcing Joe to stop as well lest his charge fell off.

"Come on, Gavin! You learnt how to do that, right? So that means you can teach me!"

"No, it doesn't! I don't have it on the same scale as you, I know nothing about how it works in Humans, and I... I'm not a teacher!"

"You can try, can't you? Got nothing to lose!" Ray looked around. "And this journey is boring. It'll make time go faster. Also, Geoff noticed we dropped behind and he's very pissed off. Again." Ray hit his temple with his fist. "And that is a thing I'd like to not feel. It's really uncomfortable."

"Dickheads!" shouted Geoff's voice. "Where the fuck are you!"

"Here!" shouted Gavin.

They ran to the rest of the group, where an indeed pissed-off Geoff asked them to walk in front of him so he could hit them if they decided to stop again. Jack joined him at the back, and Michael was left alone at the front of their procession with only Joel by his side. He was a few steps away from the Vampire, but he resolutely stayed here no matter how uncomfortable he was.

Gavin could feel Ray's stare burn a hole in the side of his head.

"All right," he hissed. "I'll try. I don't know how, but I'll give it a go."

A big, goofy smile illuminated Ray's face. "Thanks."

"No problem," mumbled Gavin. "We'll talk about it tonight, all right? I have to think about it."

"Sure."


	8. Chapter 8

The night was humid. Everyone had moved closer to the fire, though none as close as Gavin. Jack was keeping an eye on him, afraid the Dryad would end up melting his palms as he held them so close to the flames. Geoff had already told him to stay back, but Gavin always came back to the fire like a moth.

Michael, on the other hand, was as far from the fire as he could without freezing his ass off. He was still sulking. Jack had no idea what had happened earlier between the kids but he could guess it had something to do with the scrawny empath.

Ray was very interested in his ability to set things ablaze. A little bit of fire trickery always impressed people who weren't waiting for it.

"Can you do a fire ball?"

Jack did one.

"Cool... Can you make it explode?"

"Explode?"

"Yeah! Like fireworks!"

"I make fire, not explosives," said Jack, putting out his hand. "I need something else than pure air to make explosions."

Ray thought for a moment. "Can you set your beard on fire?"

"No!"

"But it would be awesome to just see a dude with a flaming beard. That'll scare the shit out of the Vampires! Won't it, Joel?"

"It's terrifying," agreed Joel, smirking.

"See? Okay, you won't do it, fine... Then can you--"

"Stop!" asked Jack. "I'm not a performing monkey!"

"Then why do you look like one?" Geoff said. Jack flipped him off.

"And if Gavin catches fire," said Ray, "you can put him out?"

They glanced at the Dryad, whose hands so close to the fire it was only a miracle they hadn't melted already. Jack gasped and diverted the flames, making them sway away from Gavin who looked at them owlishly.

"What?" he asked.

"What?" repeated Geoff. "I swear, if you catch fire nobody's gonna help you. I'll put you on a stick and use you as a fucking torch!"

"I'm not going to catch fire," said Gavin defiantly, but he retracted his hands anyway, sticking them under his armpits.

"Are you cold?" asked Jack.

"Little bit..."

"Then take an extra blanket!" said Geoff. "Here, use mine."

"No, it's fine," said Gavin hurriedly. "I'm fine. Keep your blankets."

"Dryads lose heat very easily," came Joel's soft voice. "Blankets won't be enough to stop it."

Gavin curled on himself, eyes to the floor, as if ashamed.

"Oh, yeah, I remember my dad telling me about it," recalled Jack. "Their forest is supposed to be weirdly hot..."

"Really?" asked Geoff, an eyebrow raised. "Why didn't you say so, instead of immolating yourself?"

"'m not immolating," mumbled Gavin.

"He needs bodily heat," said Jack. Gavin's cheeks seemed to catch fire themselves.

"God, you're a fucking idiot," sighed Geoff. "All right, who wanna cuddle up with the Dryad?"

"No but you don't have to--"

Gavin's protests were cut short by a mass of thick orange fur plumping down behind him, and curling around him wordlessly.

"Well, that settles it," said Geoff. "Joe will act as your living blanket."

"You don't need to..." said Gavin. He looked flustered but the heat offered by Joe's large body seemed to win him over, and he subconsciously leaned into it.

"I don't mind," assured Joe. "I don't care about sleeping here or elsewhere."

"Why didn't you say something about it earlier, Gavin?" asked Geoff, annoyed.

"I was going to, eventually," said Gavin. "You know, my people sent me here because I can withstand the cold better than other Dryads... I just feel a bit... weak... next to you guys..."

"You're such an idiot," was Geoff's diagnostic. He patted Gavin's head and walked away.

"All right." Ray moved towards Gavin, sitting besides Joe's tail. "Gavin, you said you were gonna think about teaching me. Have you?"

"Huh... Yeah, yeah. I did."

Jack listened carefully. This ought to be educational -or at the very least, entertaining.

Gavin fidgeted a bit. "All right," he said uneasily. "So, erm, you have to tell me how your empathy works."

"What do you mean?"

"So, my empathy works like reading, okay? Like... I do a little mental trick to understand what's written. It's like that for me, if I can sense an emotion, and that doesn't always happen, I can read it and understand it. It's a bit harder to understand who is it coming from, but with a bit of training you can do it. What about you?"

"Huh... I don't read them," said Ray. "I just feel them. In myself."

"So if you sense anger, you become angry?" asked Gavin, puzzled.

"No, not really. It's like, separated. I feel anger, I don't feel angry. I can make the difference, unless the emotion is really powerful."

"You can feel the intensity?"

"Yeah."

"And who it's from?"

"Well... people don't tend to feel the same way, so yeah. I can tell where it's coming from too."

"Is it constant?"

"Yeah..."

"Wow," breathed Gavin. "It must drive you mad to feel everything all the time."

Ray shrugged. "It's not pleasant, no. But at least it only hurts when people feel very intense emotions, the rest of the time it's just really uncomfortable."

"What about projecting your emotions? Like, projecting a bit of happiness towards someone else. How do you do it?"

Ray looked uncomfortable. "Hum... I've done it but it wasn't under my control... I mean... I reacted in defence when someone attacked me some time ago, so..."

"Ah. Okay..."

Jack watched the flames dance before him. He had never really thought anything of empaths. Elementals did not have this ability at all, he had never even heard of them outside of books or stories his father told him, or from Geoff who had met a few of them during his time in the army. Contrary to Michael, Jack had never been told anything negative about them, never heard any stories of madness.

He looked at Michael, lying under his blanket with his eyes closed, obviously eavesdropping. Maybe Jack could understand him now. The thought of having his emotions influenced by someone who seemed barely in control was frightening, to say the least. He liked Ray, really, the guy had been nothing but skittish and dorky, kind of endearing. But Jack just couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.

Ray twitched a little and glanced at him for half a second. He turned his back to him, and Jack winced, feeling a mixture of guilt and apprehension. It must be hell to feel everyone's hate all the time, he guessed, but... how were you supposed to react to the realization that your own mind was opened to someone else?

Gavin's leg bounced up and down. "It's really a lot more instinctual for you then," he said. "That's why I'm not sure I can teach you anything..."

"Come on!" whined Ray. "Try!"

"Okay, okay!" Gavin passed a hand through his hair. "Okay. Well, the way we learn to control it is to force the feelings that aren't ours to stay out of us unless we invite them in."

Jack listened carefully as Gavin started to talk about focus, analyzing, categorizing. Who would've thought the scatter-brained Dryad was capable of focus... but he obviously knew what he was talking about. Ray was drinking his words as if he needed them to live -and maybe he did. Jack ended up giving up on trying to understand any of it, they were talking about things he couldn't possibly identify with.

Still feeling slightly guilty about his uneasiness towards Ray, Jack leaned back where he sat, turning towards the fake-sleeping Michael.

"Do you understand what Gavin is saying means?" he asked quietly. Michael didn't answer. "He's talking about blocking the foreign emotions. Do you understand?" Still no answer. Jack went on.

"It means empaths don't seek out the things they feel. People, everyone, send out their emotions, and regular humans just can't feel them but there's no filter for empaths. They're unprotected and our emotions pierces through them."

Michael grunted and moved a bit under his blanket. "Why are you telling me that?" he groaned.

"Because I understand how you feel, but you have to cut the guy some slack. He's not doing it ; you're doing it, you're the one sending him your emotions. You are basically assaulting him, not the other way around. And he's powerless against it. He can only try to block you, like Gavin is trying to teach him... And if I understood everything, strong emotions are even more brutal for him. Anger and hate are very strong emotions, aren't they?"

Michael rolled until his back was to Jack. "I don't fucking care."

Gavin and Ray's conversation carried on long into the night, lulling everyone to sleep.

***

Geoff could remember the last time he had slept peacefully from dusk to dawn, a full night's rest and a feeling of contentment upon waking up in the morning. It had been a week ago. It felt like an eternity.

He had only managed two hours of sleep at best and now was lying on his back, watching through the branches as the stars were very slowly disappearing into the grey of dawn. A bad feeling was dancing a little jig in his chest and preventing him from closing his eyes any more. Then again, he'd be crazy not to feel bad about their whole situation.

A loud crackling sound made him turn his head. Joel was adding fresh wood into the fire, his red-tinted eyes watching the flames lick the air with a disturbing intensity. Geoff sat up.

"You do know Jack has ensured the fire will last?" he said. "You don't need to add any more branches."

Joel glanced at him. "You can't ever be too careful, can you," he said.

Geoff frowned. "Something wrong?"

"A lot of things wrong. We left my territory. I don't like this part of the world."

"Bad memories?" guessed Geoff. "I can't say I'm looking forward to seeing the Field again, either."

"Hmm. There's that," said Joel. "Amongst other things..."

"Like... things that can attack us?"

"Last time I saw Ryan he told me he'd taken care of everything that could attack anything around here, so unless he was lying... no." Joel brushed his hands together. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Bad memories," said Geoff. "Amongst other things. Is Ryan prone to lying?"

"He's never lied to me," said Joel, as if this answered the question. "Should we wake the others up?"

Geoff looked around.

Jack was snoring so loudly he was probably making earthworms scramble to the surface. Michael was in his own little corner, even further away then he had been the night before. Gavin and Ray, on the other hand, were almost entwined together under the one blanket, using Joe's slumbering body as a giant pillow.

"I can't remember how sleeping feels..." said Joel pensively.

"Huh," sniffed Geoff. "That's exactly how I feel too. Come on, we can't let them sleep peacefully when we're miserable over here. Let's make them suffer too."

Joel took care of Jack and Michael while Geoff went to kick Gavin's side.

"Hey, sunshine! You and your wife should wake up!"

Gavin sat up rubbing the sleep off his face. He looked down at the aforementioned wife, who for his part was blinking at him with a confused air on his face, glasses sliding down his nose.

"Bloody hell," muttered Gavin. "You're hardy for our first night together."

Ray smiled. "Hey, I always put out on the first date."

The untangling of their ridiculously gangly limbs took far too long, with Joe finally grabbing the back of Ray's shirt and lifting him off Gavin once and for all as if he was nothing but a cumbersome pup. The kid looked terrified.

"Don't put me in your mouth!" he screeched.

"That sounds dirty," remarked Gavin.

Joe let Ray go, leaving him to fall on all fours. "I'm only helping."

"You have teeth made to tear into flesh!! Don't grab me!"

Meanwhile, Michael was packing his gear silently and efficiently and not even looking at them. He declined the breakfast Jack started passing around, sitting alone on a log. Geoff had said he didn't want to know and he really didn't, but unfortunately it was easy to guess why the kid was in such a sour mood. It was impressive that Ray hadn't had a breakdown yet with so much negativity flying his way for two days straight.

But Geoff had neither the time nor the will to take care of this, so he ordered them to pack up and they started walking once more through the forest.

It took them half a day to finally get out of the trees and walk upon a very uneven terrain, not a single plant sprouting out of the dead dirt under their feet. They all stumbled a few times, but Ray flat out fell on his face and stayed down, panting. Joe had to pick him up again, and Gavin took it upon himself to make conversation, talking about empathic things and how to control them while Ray tried to get his breath back.

A single mountain appeared far to their left, lost in mist as it began to rain. Heavy droplets fell in a very regular pattern and dribbled a steady rhythm on the ground. Geoff felt himself twitch with each drop touching his skin.

All except Joel and Joe hid under their cloaks. The ground beneath their feet became slippery and gave off an uncomfortable smell.

"Bloody rain," muttered Gavin. "It's super cold!"

"It's not going to stop for a while so get used to it," said Joe's gentle voice.

"How do you know?"

"It's not a normal rain," said Joe. "Look above your head."

Gavin did. The sky was grey, but not through any cloud's fault -there wasn't a single cloud above. The droplets simply appeared in the air and fell heavily out of nowhere.

"I don't know what caused it, "said Joe, "I don't think anyone does. But it hasn't stopped raining in this part of the world for... what, seven years now?"

"Hmm," said Joel distractedly. He was looking far ahead, a thousand miles stare in his inexpressive eyes.

"Yes, seven years. It started just before the last Battle, I think," said Joe pensively.

"It did," said Jack. "Just came out of nowhere the day before the Vampires attacked, and it hasn't stopped ever since."

"Are we in the Field, then?" asked Gavin, looking around as if he was expecting to walk on a corpse.

"Not really," said Geoff. "The main battleground is closer to that mountain over there. But I can't tell you for sure where people fought and where they didn't. They were kind of everywhere."

"Are we going to sleep under this rain?"

"No," said Joel. "We're only on the outside of the Field, it'll be easy to get out of it. We'll sleep somewhere dry. It's just faster to go through here instead of circling the rain."

They kept walking. Everyone felt tense and moody. Ray seemed to shut down little by little, curling on Joe's back ; he eventually stopped talking altogether despite Gavin's best efforts.

True to his words, Joel led them out of the rain as soon as it started to get dark. They camped on rocks and pebbles that made Geoff miss the mud. They could see where the rain started just few feet away as it formed a wall of raindrops.

Joe shook himself like a dog, sprinkling water all around. Gavin and Ray were huddled together, quiet and taciturn, Ray almost limp next to a worried Gavin. Jack came to take a look at him.

"I don't think he's hurt or anything," said Jack. "I think the rain's not agreeing with his empathy though, for whatever reason. There's some ugly magic in the air, maybe it's bad for him. I'll make him some tea to help him relax..."

Gavin snaked an arm around Ray and squeezed him against his side. Michael sat closer to them but still refused to talk to anyone.

Only Jack was up for a chat, which Geoff was grateful for. He needed to get his mind off the general gloom.


	9. Chapter 9

Gavin could not sleep.

First of all, he was wet. Everything he owned was damp at best, drenched in most cases. Joe was curled around him and Ray was practically sleeping on top of him, providing all the heat he needed, but since both of them were also soaked Gavin felt like he was in a bloody hot spring. He wouldn't have been surprised to see vapor rise off of him. It was all dreadfully uncomfortable.

Second of all, this eternally-rainy part of the world was bothering him. He had heard of such phenomenon before, but only a Dryad magician could control the weather -and no Dryad had participated in any of the wars. And even if they had, no Dryad would ever be on the Vampires' side. It was just inconceivable. In any case the only Dryads powerful enough to pull that off were too old to be running around with Vampires anyway.

Thirdly... Michael was still sulking, and that was weighing on Gavin's heart. He was still cross at the guard's hatred of Ray, but... He kind of missed Michael. Michael was a cool guy to hang with. He was the first Human who had shown any kindness towards Gavin and had helped without asking questions, his hatred of Ray wasn't rational. He was simply being a stubborn idiot and Gavin resented him for not getting over it.

Joe started snoring. Gavin sighed. He rolled on his side, Ray's sleeping body slipping in the motion. There was Jack, snoring too (maybe those two would end up waking each other up, with a little luck). There was Michael. But there was no Geoff nor any Joel.

Gavin frowned at the empty space. He had not heard any of them get up and walk away. Maybe it was normal as far as Joel went, but he didn't know Geoff was so stealthy...

The night was brighter than in the forest, more blue than black with no clouds out of which the rain could fall, but it still did not look inviting in any way. In the far distance, inside the rainy part of the Field, Gavin thought he saw a small light flickering before it disappeared. Joel did not need any torch, this could only be Geoff roaming around for some reason.

Gavin's curiosity was picked. He sat up slowly, eased Ray onto Joe and brushed mud and dust off himself. As long as he did not wander too far from the camp, he was all right, wasn't he?

His night vision was better than any Human's, but the ground was uneven enough to make him trip a couple of times as it became more slippery. It was odd how the earth was fractured here, the barren ground was furrowed as if big, knotty roots ought to be running under it.

Gavin pulled his hood over his head, the rain dripping off of it. There was the torch swaying in the fog ahead of him and disappearing again. He walked on for a while, looking for Geoff until he was stopped by an enormous white boulder that looked like it had been torn away from the mountain and dropped here. Maybe Gavin could see Geoff from the top of it...

He put hands and feet into cracks and managed to wriggle his way up. He walked around the surface, eyes travelling the land. Unfortunately, it was too foggy for him to see very far even from this height.

He saw something from the corner of his eyes and looked down. Under his feet, the white boulder wasn't so white. There was a dark-ish stain on a large part of it that looked like someone had dropped some kind of liquid in vast quantity. Gavin crouched and touched the stain with the tip of his fingers, and retracted them as a shiver ran through his bones, uncomfortable and unsettling.

"Blood?" he whispered, horrified and fascinated at the same time.

"Blood," said a voice behind him.

He jumped and landed on his butt, scrambling to turn around. Brown eyes were looking down at him above a toothy smile.

"Joel!" yelped Gavin. "You... you scared me."

"Sorry," said he Vampire without sounding sorry. "What are you doing out here?"

"Hum, just... looking around."

"Why?"

"Just curious, you know. Also looking for Geoff."

"He's around," said Joel. "Visiting bad memories."

Gavin looked down at the blood stain on which he was sitting. All the rain ought to have washed it away after all this time.

"Do you know what caused this rain?" he asked.

"Hmm. Not for sure. But we both know only Dryads have the power to change things so drastically, don't we?"

Joel scrapped at the bloodstain with his naked foot, as if trying to make it go away.

"This place was a forest before," he said. "My forest and Ryan's used to be just one big woodland, going as far as the mountain over there. This field did not exist. During the lasts Battle the Humans took refuge here because they knew they had a better chance. They knew the Vampires were coming from behind the mountain ; that forest was a wall between them and the capital city. Elementals had access to greenery, water, flammable stuff, and things to fling around. It should have worked in theory -the great War a hundred years ago was won in a forest too."

"What happened?" asked Gavin.

"The rain happened. It killed everything green and poisoned the lakes. Did not do anything to the Humans, though. My kind was happy to kill them by sinking their teeth into living flesh. They love that."

Gavin shivered at Joel's bluntness and folded a bit on himself. He was starting to feel really cold now.

"You're saying Vampires caused the rain?" he asked.

"Oh, no, no, no. We have zero magical abilities. Less than zero... we have negative magical abilities."

"Well in any case, that's not the work of a Dryad," said Gavin categorically. "Not one of my people would have ever done that. We're peaceful folks, we don't... do that. I don't think any of us would even have enough magic!"

"If you say so," said Joel. "You'll have to tell me who else would have the power to make up supernatural rain then, because I'm out of ideas."

"Water Elementals could!"

"Water Elementals need clouds. Do you see any cloud above your head? And they are healers, their very touch makes water go all sparkly pure. They don't infect things." Joel paused, as if considering something. "A water Elemental saved Geoff's life."

"Jack's father?"

"No. She was among the captured soldiers with Geoff," corrected Joel. "Nice girl. Feisty. Killed the Vampires' leader."

Gavin frowned. "What did she do? I thought Geoff had killed the leader."

"Did he say that? What a way to steal the fame... I was trying to negotiate the situation and Geoff was getting his ass kicked by the Vampires' leader when the girl pounced and saved his life. And then she walked to me, gave me a bottle full of sparkly water. Said to pour it in a puddle of clean water and rub Geoff's wounds in it. Then she died."

"Oh, no..."

"She was heavily injured. I didn't see it in time because she was drenched in blood anyway. I forget her name, sorry..."

"Lindsay."

Gavin looked over his shoulder. Geoff had joined them, somehow climbing the boulder without a sound, looking like he had just swam through a whole ocean and had caught a few diseases on his way. He had his sword in his hand.

"Her name was Lindsay, don't you fucking forget it ever again. She saved your life too, Joel."

"Huh. I was gonna win anyway."

"No. She saved your life."

Geoff's voice was stern and cold. Joel smiled slightly.

"Yeah. She did. I'm a very bad fighter."

"I know. What are you morons doing here? What is he", he pointed at Gavin, "doing here? It's not safe."

"We're just talking," said Joel with a shrug. "About water healers, Dryads' weather, and your tendency to disappear. Gavin thought you were deserting."

"No! I just saw your light and I was wondering what you were doing, that's all..."

"My light?" repeated Geoff with a frown. "What light?"

"The light of your torch," said Gavin with a wave. He stopped mid-way through it, his hand stuck in the air as it pointed at absolutely nothing. "Where's your torch?"

"I don't have a torch, dickhead. How do you want me to have a torch in this weather? It would be flooded immediately!"

"But, then... whose light did I see?"

"Let's not speculate," said Geoff. "Let's just get out of this rain."

Joel jumped off the boulder. Geoff and Gavin had to go about it more pragmatically, slipping and skidding off the stone. Geoff did not let go of his sword however, and as soon as his feet touched the muddy ground he held it out in front of him, carefully following Gavin as Joel led the way.

There was no torch anywhere to be seen, and only the overly regular pitter-patter of the rain to be heard. Or at least it was like this for a while until Gavin stopped, his ears picking up on something else. Someone was running towards them. Screaming.

"Gavin! GAVIN! Where are you, you fucking idiot? Gavin!! I swear if you're dead, I'm gonna kill you!"

"He's here!" shouted Joel.

Michael's silhouette appeared in-between the rain drops, sword out and armor on, huffing huge puffs of white breath. He skidded to a messy halt before them.

"Gavin!" he wheezed. "Oh fuck, I think I dislodged a fucking lung."

"Did you hurt yourself?" asked Gavin meekly, taking a hesitant step towards him.

"Of course I hurt myself, I fucking ran like hell from the fucking camp!" shouted Michael. His sword made a broad motion in the air, forcing Gavin to duck. "What do you think you're doing, you ass? Running away in the night like a clueless monkey! With Joel!!"

Joel blinked and turned to Geoff. "Should I take offence?"

"Probably."

"You're a fucking Vampire!" shouted Michael. "Of course I'd be worried if you hung out with Gavin, it's not fucking hard to understand why!"

"You were worried?" said Gavin softly.

Michael snorted. He sheathed his sword and started pushing on Gavin's back to steer him towards the camp.

"Ray was worried. Just half of us, fucking gone! Joe had to practically fucking trap him under a paw to stop him from running after you guys. He said he was feeling intense fear but didn't know who it was coming from. He was half out of his damn mind! He barely managed to give me the right direction before collapsing."

"Is he all right? I wasn't that scared!" said Gavin.

"Yeah, about that... Jack said the rain's making Ray all wonky and potentially dangerous for himself. So Joe decided to take him on his little side quest right now instead of waiting on us."

"Oh, Ray's gone?" asked Gavin sadly.

"Yeah. Joe took him to the poachers' village."

"That means Jack is alone at the camp?" asked Geoff. He started walking faster. "You do know Jack can't fight for shit, right?"

"He didn't want to come! He said someone had to stay to look over our stuff. He made a circle of fire around himself, he's fine! I'm the one who put my ass on the line to come get the idiot over here!"

"I'm not an idiot," protested Gavin.

"Yes, you fucking are. You wandered off alone in the night with a Vampire."

"Joel's fine!"

"Yeah? Well you didn't seem so sure of it the other night, and I promised I'd look over you, so there. No, don't look at me like that," he groaned as Gavin turned to him. "I didn't do it for you, I just did it because I promised. Stop looking at me and walk!"

Michael pushed him none too gently and Gavin laughed. His heart felt slightly lighter now. Michael was genuinely a good guy -stubborn, yes, but good. Ray had probably sensed that, it explained why he'd endured Michael's cold treatment without saying a word.

"You're a nice boy, Michael," smiled Gavin.

"I fucking hate you so much," hissed Michael.

_***_

After they had all scattered away last night, everyone but Jack and Joel opened very tired eyes when dawn broke.

Jack went around waking them all up. Michael had decided to stop being a narrow-minded dick and Jack found the two youngsters sleeping side by side, Michael's arms around Gavin's middle as if to stop him from running away again.

They walked a tired pace for two days through the rain, Joel insisting it was the fastest way and only leading them to dry land for the night. The humidity and gloom of the place was getting to them, sinking into their bones. Without Joe to help out, they found themselves having to carry their bags again, and Joel refused to help. It infuriated Jack enough that he started arguing with the Vampire, Michael and Gavin joining in (though Jack suspected they were only trying to stir shit up to make themselves laugh), and the argument did not stop until almost an hour later when Geoff shouted at them to shut the fuck up. Joel had a self-satisfied smirk all that time. It made Jack want to strangle him.

The one and only high point was on the second day, when Gavin excitedly pointed at dots of light glinting far away in the rain.

"There!" he shouted. "That's what I saw! I thought it was Geoff!"

"What is this?" asked Michael, squinting through his glasses.

"Flying fires," said Jack.

"What now?"

"Flying fires," repeated Jack. "They appear in places where there's a lot of magic around. They travel around but there's more of them close to where the spell was cast... They're harmless," he added as Gavin threw a worried glance his way. "Just a physical manifestation of some sort of magic wave or something.... I'm no expert."

"Then how do you know about this?" asked Joel.

"My dad told me," shrugged Jack. "He knew about everything. And if I do this..."

He waved his hand in the air. One of the little lights trembled a bit, then flew right across the field and came to rest in his palm. It was a little orange flame curled into a ball, swaying slowly as if pushed by a soft wind.

"Nice!" said Michael.

Gavin reached out with a curious finger but it was cold to his touch. "It's pretty... Can I take it?"

Jack poured the light on Gavin's hand. It went out immediately and the Dryad pouted.

"It's not fair!"

"It's fire, dummy," said Michael. "Of course it's not going to stay in your hand."

"It stays in the air and under the rain! Why not in my hand?"

"The rain's magic. You're not."

"Jack's not magic, you bloody pillock!"

"He's a fire Elemental, that's a fire! And what the fuck did you just call me?!"

Jack called another flame to his hand.

"We can have a light now," he said.

"Magnificent," said Geoff flatly. "Can we move on?"

The light source did nothing to improve their fatigue, but it did reassure them. It was brighter than normal fire, sparkling and soft, in stark contrast with this desolate, lifeless place. Jack was sad to see it go out in a little puff of smoke as soon as they got out of the rain.

"We'll get to the forest by tomorrow," said Joel, to everyone's relief. By this point they all wanted to just see some grass. Anything green and alive.

"Your glasses are dry," noticed Gavin, pointing at Michael who went cross-eyed to verify for himself.

"Oh, yeah. Well, they're magic."

"Seriously?"

"No, not seriously," said Michael with a sigh. "A fucking water Elemental did some stupid shit to them a while ago. Now water just doesn't stick to the glass at all."

"That's handy."

"Yeah, whatever..." grumbled Michael. "You only noticed this now?"

"It's not like I look at your glasses all the time... Oh wait, yes I do," corrected Gavin with a frown. "Ah well I just wasn't paying attention. Who's that water Elemental? Was it Jack's dad?"

"Nope. It was a soldier in my platoon."

"Oh. You know, I thought water spirits weren't fighters."

"Well maybe she wanted a change of scenery. Now would you stop yammering?" groaned Michael.

"I'm just curious," said Gavin with a shrug.

Since they were finally out of the rain for good, Jack offered his services to dry off wet bags and their content. Michael passed him a few stuff and Jack lit a small fire in one of his hands. Gavin looked as vapor rose from the fabrics.

"Why didn't you ask that water Elemental to do the same thing to our clothes?" he asked.

"Are you still on this?" said Michael, throwing his hands in the air. "Just let it go!"

"I'm just saying. It would have been useful."

"Yeah, well we're just not on speaking terms anymore, okay? She fucked off to some remote part of the world, I'm not about to scour the earth just to find her."

"Oh, she's the girl who was captured with Geoff?" deciphered Gavin. He suddenly gasped. "Oh..." he said, bringing his hands to his mouth as his eyes widened. He looked at Geoff, and the earth Elemental's expression couldn't have been blanker. Gavin looked back at Michael.

"What?" asked Michael. "What's happening?"

"Huh... nothing," said Gavin quickly. "I just... nothing."

Michael did not buy it one bit, but he did not insist. He took his dried blanket and went off to find the most comfortable of all the rocks.

Despite that squabble and despite the fact that their dinner was frugal at best, everyone went to sleep with a lighter heart. Seeing a Vampire they didn't know tomorrow seemed, still, a better alternative to staying in the Field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't worry, Ray will be back soon... next chapter, Ryan!


	10. Chapter 10

Dark, dark, extra dark.

The more they walked on, the more the forest blackened even though it was close to midday and the sun was, supposedly, shining high in the sky. And this despite the fact that the trees seemed to have less and less leaves, greenery was disappearing little by little. Only thick knots of wood and naked branches reaching out to scratch your skin to the bone.

Gavin shivered. It was marginally warmer than in the Field, but still colder than it should. Geoff, Joel and Jack lead the way while Michael stayed behind with him. Nobody had said a word in quite some time.

Geoff broke off from the front group and fell behind until he was walking with Gavin.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Yeah... fine..."

"You know why this forest is so dark?"

Gavin looked up at him. "Hum... no? I don't know. It looks like it's... dying."

"It's not," said Geoff. "Those trees are alive. But they have been tempered with."

Gavin frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's a bit hard to explain. Vampires just have that effect on the world around them. It kind of warps, you know? I guess they have a bad aura. It bends the world around them to reflect it. If they stay in the same spot long enough, it's got to end up looking twisted. Their aura permeates the very air."

"So this forest is creepy because there's a Vampire here?"

"Pretty much, yeah. That's also why your buddy Ray came to Joel's territory without thinking, the idiot seems totally impervious to the Vampires' emotions, even as negative as those are. You on the other hand, seem to be receptive of it all. Can you feel Joel himself?"

"No..."

"Well, I guess since you're a Dryad you're able to feel nature itself tremble in its breeches, thing Ray can't do."

"But you guys can feel it," said Gavin. "How come Ray can't if you can?"

"I feel it because I feel nature too," said Geoff. "Michael feels it because he's seen it before on a much larger scale. And Jack knew about it, he was waiting for it and recognized it."

"Yeah but even Ray wouldn't go in this forest," said Michael, looking around him. "I mean Joel's forest wasn't all that inviting but at least it looked... you know. Greener."

"Less deader," said Gavin with a small nod.

"That would be because Joel's aura isn't that negative." Geoff stopped and thought for a moment. "Well, not angry-negative. It's a fucking depressing aura though. But yeah, I told you he wasn't dangerous for you and I stand by it : Joel doesn't wish harm on a lot of things."

Gavin met Michael's eyes. Michael's free hand took his wrist and squeezed briefly, a reassuring little gesture for which Gavin was grateful.

"So, if the forest looks like this, it means that Ryan is a lot more negative than Joel?"

"Yup... But the trees aren't dead! That's got to be positive."

"Yeah... they just creepily look like it," muttered Michael.

Ahead of them, Jack lit up a fire ball. Gavin tightened his cloak around him. His thumb was touching the dagger's pommel, tapping against it nervously. Slowly, sneakily, he managed to make Geoff and himself fall behind as Michael kept on walking. He had things to discuss.

"Geoff," he whispered, "why does Michael think you're the one who killed the Vampire leader? And that Lindsay is alive?"

Geoff walked silently for a few paces more.

"Because I told him so," he said finally. "Listen, it's my problem, you don't have to worry about it."

"It makes Michael sad," said Gavin. "I don't like it. It's a mean thing to lie about."

"Yes," said Geoff simply.

He didn't elaborate. Gavin reluctantly let it go. He could feel the Elemental's emotions but they were muted, as if trapped in a box, and he wasn't sure he wanted to open it.

Joel stopped so abruptly that Jack slammed right into him. The rest of them only narrowly avoided a collision and Geoff immediately sprinted to the Vampire's side.

"What's going on?"

Joel did not answer. He was looking around, his eyes glinting in the darkness. Gavin stepped closer to Michael and the guard grabbed his wrist again, this time not letting go.

They all stood still, hardly daring to breathe.

A sound cut through the eerie silence, a rustle in the darkness, low, barely there, but enough to make Gavin startle. Michael shushed him.

Another sound, similar but closer. It was approaching, running around them like a wolf circling its prey -except a wolf would not worry Joel.

Gavin slowly took down the shields protecting his mind. He felt Jack's fear and Geoff and Michael steeling themselves to fight, but no one else. His own fear was starting to choke him. He caught Michael's eye and silently mouthed, 'Vampire'. Michael nodded, his hand tightening on his sword.

There was a blur and in the blink of an eye a dark silhouette was out of the cover of the trees, dark red hood over the head and naked feet in the mud. Gavin looked in frozen surprise as the new Vampire all but grabbed Joel and threw him to the side. He went to Geoff and Jack and did the same, pushing them into Joel like he was swatting flies.

He turned around and his eyes met Gavin's. His face was kept in shadows but his irises were shining and blood red. Michael moved immediately, placing himself between the Vampire and Gavin with his sword raised, not letting go of Gavin's wrist.

The Vampire didn't take it into account at all. He ran at them at full speed. Gavin felt like he'd collided with a rock as he and Michael were picked off the ground and wedged under powerful arms.

The Vampire didn't stop running, zooming between the trees so fast and so silently it felt like flying. Gavin was screaming, trying to scratch the arm around him, thrashing under the iron grip. He heard Michael shouting a rain of insults.

A quiet, deep voice growled in their ear.

"Shut up or you're dead."

Gavin immediately stilled and obeyed, though a tiny whimper escaped his throat. Sweat was pouring out of him, his heart felt like it was exploding in his chest, pumping waves of fear through his veins.

Michael was still shrieking as loud as he could. The Vampire answered by tightening his arm around him, and Michael had no other choice but shut up if he wanted to breathe.

"Shhhhhh, " hissed the Vampire.

Both Michael's hands were around the Vampire's arm and his muscles were straining with the silent effort of trying to get it off, unsuccessfully.

They reached a clearing with a small lake in the middle, where the trees were a lot more green and alive. Here the Vampire skidded to a stop in the mud. He turned around swiftly, head snapping left and right to see if he had been followed ; there was nothing but the sound of the wind on the leaves, blowing ripples on the water.

Michael and Gavin were released without warning. They fell abruptly on the ground with a small cry and found each other's gaze, stunned. 

The confused silence didn't last long.

"What the fuck!" screamed Michael. "What the hell is your problem!"

He jumped to his feet, immediately taking a fighting stance as he faced the Vampire.

"What are you doing!"

"Saving you," answered the Vampire.

"By fucking choking us to death?"

"You didn't want to shut up!"

Gavin blinked up at the Vampire, who took off his hood. Suddenly he seemed to deflate -he looked smaller, his whole being seemed to have shrunk. The red eyes turned blue, only tinted with a pink afterglow.

"What are you doing here, Dryad?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. "This is not a place for you."

"Technically, it's not a place for you either," snapped Michael before Gavin could utter a word.

"I won't deny that," said the Vampire with a shrug.

"Where are the others?"

"If Joel picked up on my signal, he's made them run away and brought them somewhere safe like I did for you."

"Your signal was to punch him and fucking throw him into a tree?!"

"It's swift and efficient."

"You could have, you know... talked."

"I had to be quick, you were being tracked! But don't worry, you're safe here."

Gavin watched the back-and-forth with his mouth half-opened. "You're Ryan?" he asked as the thought dawned on him.

"Of course he is, dummy," said Michael, rolling his eyes. "He'd have already eaten already us if he weren't."

"What was tracking us? Are there other Vampires?"

Ryan tilted his head to the side. "Sort of."

"Oh my fucking God," groaned Michael, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I'm so tired of cryptic answers. I had enough with Geoff and Joel, don't you fucking start too!"

"Huh... I'm not trying to be cryptic. They were sort-of Vampires."

Michael blinked. "Oh. Okay. So, what, Werewolves?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Werewolves aren't real," snorted Ryan. "Nope. They don't have a name, as far as I know. I like to call them Demons."

"I think I'd prefer Werewolves..." said Michael with a wince.

"Michael! Gavin!"

Geoff's voice startled them. He appeared out of the trees, panting, and tensed as soon as he saw the new Vampire. He raised Michael's sword up, his own still sheathed by his side.

"You're Ryan?" he asked tersely.

Ryan nodded. He looked utterly unafraid of Geoff's fighting pose.

Jack arrived behind Geoff and Joel followed, walking without looking where he was going as he was too preoccupied by a pretty big tear in his cloak.

"What the fuck was that all about!" yelped Jack.

"Apparently that's how he says 'Hello'," grumbled Joel. He looked mightily pissed off about his cloak.

"I had to move fast," said Ryan. "So, Joel..." He pointed at Gavin. "He's a Dryad."

Joel clicked his tongue. "Yes, he is. Private property, no drinking allowed."

"I wasn't going to," said Ryan as if he was offended Joel even suggested it. "What are you guys doing here?"

"They're friends," said Joel.

"Ah, yes." The Vampire's eyes followed the patterns on Geoff's arms. "I know you. Well, I heard of you, anyway. Nice to meet you."

"'Nice to--what? You threw me!!" spluttered Geoff indignantly.

"Huh, my bad. As I said, I had to move fast. Didn't really have the time to stop and chat."

"We were followed by Demons," said Michael casually, as if he was talking about the weather.

"Oh, great," said Geoff in the same tone, "it's everything I've ever wanted." He held the sword out to Michael. "Here, picked that up for you. You dropped it."

"Thanks..."

Jack was looking nervously around them.

"Are we safe here? From... Demons?"

"For now," said Ryan. "They don't come near this lake."

"So you haven't gotten rid of them," said Joel.

"I thought I had. They came back."

"What are they?" asked Jack.

"Sort-of Vampires," answered Michael. "I fucking hate this world."

Joel and Ryan exchanged a weary glance.

"Jack, could you light up a fire?" asked Joel. "I think we should camp here for the night. The view's nice."

_***_

The fire was crackling merrily in the dark, flames reflecting on the water. It was a cold, cold night. Not quite as humid as it had been on the Field but Geoff could feel a freezing wind seep under his skin.

The two Vampires, eyes glowing, were sitting on one side of the fire and whispering to each other animatedly. The rest of them were on the other side, with Gavin and Michael huddled under the same blanket, Michael holding his sword and throwing careful glances around him. Jack was absently nibbling on a piece of bread -there had been no hunting that evening, and everyone had been reduced to hard bread and water. Geoff kept his eyes on Ryan, observing him attentively.

He was distracted by Michael whispering to him.

"That's the guy who's making the forest look dead?"

"Apparently..." said Geoff.

"He doesn't look all that gloomy... He's more goofy than anything."

"Dude, he almost reduced Joel to minced meat when he threw him around," whispered Jack.

"Yeah, he's strong," agreed Gavin in a shaking voice. "He gives me both the heebie and the jeebies."

Michael squinted. "I can take him."

"Sure you can, buddy," said Geoff, patting Michael's shoulder. "Sure you can."

"I ain't afraid," said Michael defiantly. "He's just a pattle-... a blodock-... what did you call me the other day, Gavin?"

"Bloody pillock?"

"Yes, what he said."

"Jack," called Joel, interrupting all discussions, "what do you think happens to Vampires when they're killed?"

Jack looked up, startled at being talked to and at the question itself. The two Vampires were looking at him with a scary intensity.

"What do you mean?" cut in Geoff. "They die when they're killed. I've seen it with my own eyes."

"Just let Jack talk..."

Geoff frowned at his friend.

"Huh... I've heard stories," said Jack without confidence. "I mean... My father told me stories. But they're just stories..."

"Try it."

Jack wiggled uncomfortably where he sat. He cleared his throat.

"Well... there's this one tale that says Vampires turn into yellow flowers when they're killed."

"Aw, that's so cute," commented Michael with a smirk.

"There's another that says they return to their human self... and another that says a Vampire can become a sort of evil spirit when they die." Jack paused a second, brow furrowing in thought. "They become twisted versions of themselves and turn against other Vampires, try to kill them instead of Humans. Are you telling me," said Jack, pointing a finger at Ryan, "that that's what you made us run away from?"

"That is what I'm telling you, yes."

"Seriously?" squeaked Geoff. "Twisted versions of a Vampire?"

"That's not cute," said Michael slowly.

"It's because of whatever magic happened in the Field, I think," Ryan said. "Some of the Vampires that were killed here came back a few months later. I was walking through the Field when I was attacked for the first time."

"I thought he was pulling my leg when he told me about it," said Joel with a shrug. "Demons are a legend among us too."

"I killed most of them in a year, burning their corpses as I went to be sure they wouldn't come back... it's been a while since I've seen new ones, I thought I was done with them," said Ryan. "They're strong but very sloppy things, not an once of intelligence in them. It's easy to get them when you're one-on-one."

"How many were there today?" asked Geoff.

"Four that I counted," said Ryan. "And they've smelt the Dryad."

"I thought they only went after Vampires?"

"So did I. But I saw that one Demon, and suddenly he whipped around and made a bee-line for you guys. Three others joined in and started circling you... No, they've definitely noticed his smell. Dryad blood is so powerful, intoxicating. It shouts at us to drink it dry... Oh, sorry," said Ryan quickly as he noticed Gavin had retreated behind Michael, and Geoff and Jack were both glaring at him. "I won't eat you, don't worry. I may not have Joel's self-control, but I know how to feed myself enough that I won't go crazy on you."

"How do you do that?" asked Geoff suspiciously.

"Cows, mostly," said Ryan. "There are a lot of farms to the north of this forest, and a lot of wolves around to take the blame. I can also catch any number of forest animal. I do prefer a cow, though. Tastier. I drank one just this morning, it was nice..."

"You're fucking creepy," mumbled Michael.

Ryan smiled. If that was intended to make himself look friendlier, it failed. He was even creepier like that, his pointy fangs glistening.

The smile fell off quickly however. Both Ryan and Joel suddenly froze, their red eyes looking at a fixed point in the bushes.

Geoff turned around to look, hand going to his sword. There were red eyes here as well, six pairs, looking back at them. At Gavin. A low growl rang out.

"But they're scared of the lake!" said Jack in a high-pitched, panicked voice. "You said they were scared of this lake!!"

"They are," said Ryan shortly. "I don't understand..." His eyes turned to Gavin. "It's you," he said, almost accusatively. "You're bothering them too much, they can't stay away."

Michael started pushing Gavin back until he had both feet in the lake. Joel came up to him.

"Keep him close. Hide his smell with yours. They should only go for me and Ryan if they don't notice him."

Michael nodded. Joel stood next to Geoff. Jack's hands went up in flames. The red eyes in the darkness moved slowly. Deep growls echoed around them.

Ryan was standing before them in the blink of an eye. "They're hesitating," he said slowly, reading his enemies.

Geoff's hands tightened around his sword. He steeled himself, his feet sinking in the loose soil. Fuck everything, this was not how he wanted to go. Not that there was a particular way he'd like to go, but being ripped to shreds by rabid shadows of Vampires he had already killed once was on his shit-list.

He looked at Michael behind him. The guy had never been an optimistic person, but right now everything about him screamed that he was going to fight until his last breath if that was what it took. So much determination, unwavering no matter what was thrown at him. Geoff had often told himself to take example on that.

"They're coming," said Ryan.

As if it was the signal they were waiting for, the Demons sprung out of the bushes. Joel and Ryan charged immediately. Geoff followed.

He swung his sword and managed to get one of them through the arm. He tried to pull his sword back but it stayed stuck. The wound didn't bleed, the Demon barely registered it. Its face was grey and disfigured, skin blotched and bloated and cracked in several places, and its sunken eyes were empty ; two red glass orbs focused on Gavin even though Geoff stood here with his sword stuck in its flesh. It was relentlessly pushing against Geoff, trying to get past him.

Geoff shoved his feet further in the mud to gain leverage and push against the Demon, forcing it back. His sword refused to move from its arm, stuck in the squelching skin.

"Your motherfucker," swore Geoff. He let go of the sword and waved his arm. A root shot up from the earth and trapped the Demon's feet. It fell over and Geoff made the root tighten until he heard bones crack.

The Demon was not fazed. It kept on trying to crawl to Gavin. Geoff gritted his teeth and stomped on the its neck. There was a noise as if he'd walked on broken glass, and the Demon finally stopped moving.

Geoff took his sword and finally managed to get it out. He turned around.

Joel was battling against two Demons at once. Michael had been forced away from Gavin by two others that he somehow managed to distract, and the Dryad was sitting in the lake looking terrified, his dagger held out in feeble defense. Neither Jack nor Ryan were anywhere to be seen, and Geoff felt his heart skip a beat until he saw Jack swim out of the lake, looking like a disgruntled cat forced into a bath.

One of Michael's Demons broke free and ran at Gavin. Ryan appeared out of nowhere and pushed it back with a single blow. His claws glinted as they plunged deep into the Demon's chest and ripped its dead heart out. It fell to the floor, lifeless. Not a drop of blood fell out of him.

Geoff raised both his hands and two sturdy vines crept towards the remaining Demons. They curled around their legs and yanked, sending them to the ground. Ryan and Michael jumped on them ; Ryan had slashed two throats before Michael could pierce one heart.

The wind blew softly in the following silence.

"We got them all?"

"I... think we did," said Jack, spitting out water. He was heaving, still dripping wet. An algae was trapped in his beard.

Ryan's eyes flashed. "No."

Joel and him turned around and ran towards the lake, too late. Another Demon jumped out of the cover of the trees, leaping right at Gavin. Geoff could barely follow what happened next as the Vampires were moving far too fast, but it ended with Joel curled around Gavin protectively and Ryan's hand going through the Demon's skull as if it were made of fresh clay.

For a moment, everything stood still. Only the sound of the Humans panting heavily could be heard.

Then Michael sheathed his sword and ran over to where Gavin and Joel lay on the ground.

"You all right?" asked Michael urgently. He offered a hand to Gavin, who took it gratefully to get on his feet. He was shaking from head to toes.

"Are-are they g-gone?" he stuttered in a broken voice.

"I think so," said Ryan.

"Are you all right, Gavin?" repeated Michael, looking the Dryad over to make sure he was not wounded.

"I'm-I'm fine. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Not helping?" said Gavin. "I-I put all of you in danger..."

"Well, it's not really your fault if you're so yummy," said Ryan. His tone was joking, but his voice lacked any warmth at all. It gave for an odd and slightly disturbing combination.

"I'm going to take a look around," he said, "just to make sure those were the only ones."

He ran off into the night.

Geoff frowned. Joel was still lying on the ground on his side ; he had not moved even as Gavin got up. His eyes were opened and blinking around.

"Joel? You all right there?"

"Yeah," said the Vampire. He didn't bother to elaborate.

Gavin exchanged a glance with Jack.

"Joel," called Geoff. "Get up."

"I'm coming."

He did not move, not one inch.

"Joel!"

Joel rolled on himself and put his hands on the ground, and pushed to stand up. He immediately fell back down, folding as if his body had snapped. His cloak swirled around him briefly.

"Fuck! Joel!" Geoff ran to him and skidded on his knees by his side.

Had he been hit? Geoff's hands hovered over the Vampire as he turned towards the Dryad.

"What the fuck happened!"

Gavin looked panicked, gripping Michael's wrist so tightly his knuckles were white. "I don't know, I don't know!"

"I'm fine," came Joel's muffled voice on the ground.

"Fuck..." Geoff gripped Joel's shoulders and turned him over as gently as he could.

He blinked at Geoff confusedly. His eyes had a slight reddish tint about them. Geoff saw cuts in his shirt and tore it open.

On his stomach were four deep, open slashes. Much like the Demons, he wasn't bleeding at all, leaving the raw open flesh perfectly visible, inflamed and twitching.

"Fuck!" repeated Geoff.

"I didn't know, I didn't see!" squeaked Gavin in total panic. "Why's there no blood! I didn't see it!"

"Shut up!" growled Geoff. "Jack!"

Jack knelt next to him and started examining wounds.

"I need water. Gavin!" prompted Jack.

Gavin startled. He fumbled for his water skin, only to find it empty. He quickly filled it at the lake at threw it at Jack.

"I'm fine," said Joel hazily.

"You shut the fuck up!" warned Geoff.

Jack poured the water on the wounds and fished in his satchel for a roll of bandages and a vial filled with some liquid. Him and Geoff worked quickly to wrap up the wounds, ignoring Joel's involuntary whimpers of pain.

By the time they were finished, Joel's eyes were swimming around without focus, his eyelids heavy. Geoff snapped his fingers at him.

"Joel! Hey, Joel! Look at me! Look at me, you fucking asshole! Joel!"

Joel's eyes found his. "Geoff. I'm fine," he mumbled.

"No, you're not. You better not fucking die or I'll leave you to be eaten by snakes! Do you hear me?"

It failed to inspire fear, but it made Joel chuckle weakly for a second before he fell unconscious.


	11. Chapter 11

When consciousness came back to Joel, it did not do so softly. It slammed into his skull and hammered at his eyelids, made his ears ring and his limbs tingle painfully. He caught voices around him, some whispered and some -Geoff mainly- shouting.

"So if Vampires don't drink blood, they just don't... have any blood?" And that was Gavin.

"Pretty much." 

"They're essentially dead after all..."

"And this fucker goes and gets himself mauled at the first occasion!" growled Geoff. "Are those fucking Vampires from the bowels of Hell poisonous?"

"I told you, those weren't Vampires," said Ryan's deep voice. "I don't know why their scratches are so bad for Joel, they never managed to touch me. They might have poisoned him somehow."

"What a fucking dick," grunted Geoff.

Joel frowned. He was not going to stand for that. 

"I get hurt protecting a friend, and... and that's the thanks I get?" 

Talking was hard. Joel swallowed thickly and opened his eyes. It was still night time, and in a fire's dancing light Geoff's head appeared above him.

"So you're awake, dickhead?"

"Huh... kinda wish I wasn't." 

He flailed around until Geoff took his arm and helped him up. Sitting was painful and nauseating, the whole world dancing around him. He looked down at his stomach and found it not only _not_ wrapped in a bandage, but also almost healed. The deep gashes from before only looked like scrapes now.

"The water from the lake," said Geoff. "It healed you up."

Joel wasn't about to tell him that he didn't feel healed at all. 

"It's the water you used for me at the Battle of the Field, isn't it?" asked Geoff.

"Is it?" mumbled Joel. "I can't remember."

Geoff rolled his eyes at him. "How do you feel?"

Shit, that nausea was fucking terrible. Joel couldn't physically puke but damn if he didn't want to. 

"Yeah, I feel fine. Well," he corrected under Geoff's glare, "finer than I probably should feel." 

His insides felt ablaze, muscles on fire and organs melting. He looked around at the four faces looking at him with varying degrees of worry and anger, and in Ryan's case, awkward discomfort. 

"You should have moved out of this forest already," he said with a wince. 

"You've only been out for an hour," said Ryan. "The sun is almost up. Demons are slowed down during the day, we'll leave then."

"So lie down and shut up," summarized Geoff.

Joel did as he was told, only as defiantly as he could. He crossed his hands on his stomach and had to stifle a whimper. 

He glanced at Gavin, who was looking at him as well. The Dryad offered him a shy smile which Joel returned, and looked elsewhere. Joel did not. If he concentrated hard enough, he could see Gavin's blood, pulsing underneath his tanned skin. Joel blinked. It looked sparkly... would Gavin bleed sparkly? Joel's insides were burning so hot... Dryad blood would be so fresh...

Joel's mind slowly slipped away.

_***_

"He's out again," sighed Jack. 

Geoff angrily kicked a pebble into the lake. Jack watched the ripples spread. 

"Is it really here that he healed your arms during the Battle?" he asked.

Geoff shrugged. "Only explanation I see. I can't remember clearly, I was half dead at the time... but he says he dropped some healing water in a small lake to wash my wounds."

"I don't understand," said Gavin quietly. His eyes were riveted on Joel's healed up stomach. 

"Water Elementals can give still water healing properties," said Jack. "By dropping that healing water in the lake, Joel made the whole thing capable of healing. But... the Elemental has to be very powerful for such a small sample to spread to a whole lake and to last over the years," he added. "I don't think my own father could do it, and he was the best healer of the village."

"Obviously he wasn't," said Geoff. 

"... obviously," said Jack quietly. 

Geoff turned to him, and his eyes took a gentler glint. 

"Sorry Jack. I didn't mean it like that."

"No, you're right. Unless he hid it from me, my dad never had a strong enough connection to water to do these kind of things."

Jack took his water skin and emptied it in the dirt before going to the lake and filling it back up. He wished they had a bigger container, but he couldn't force the others to give up on their water. 

"If he's healed, why did he faint?" asked Michael. He was looking down at the Vampire and tapped him on the arm with his foot. 

"Stop that!" snapped Geoff. 

"There is no easy healing for a Vampire," said Ryan. "You can glue the skin back together, but Joel is not alive, his body won't do the rest of the work and flush out whatever poison is in him, it won't stop hurting. Any damage he takes, he keeps... He would regenerate if he'd been drinking regularly but he hasn't..."

"So he can't ever be healed?" said Gavin, horror in his voice. "He's going to stay wounded forever?"

Ryan's lips thinned, his eyes staring at Gavin. Jack knew all too well what he was thinking about.

"Dryad blood would probably heal him immediately," he said, blurting it out quickly to get it out of the way.

Gavin looked like he wanted to vomit. Geoff kicked another pebble into the water. The sun was coming up, shy rays shining through the trees.  
Joel suddenly sat bolt upright, eyes wide open. Everyone jumped out of their skin.

"The fuck?!" yelped Michael. 

"Joel?" called Geoff uncertainly. 

Joel's eyes snapped around, pausing on every face until they found Gavin's. They were turning red. 

"You should all back away," said Ryan carefully. 

Michael's hand went to his sword. "What's happening?"

"I don't know..."

"Joel?" tried Geoff again, taking a step towards the injured Vampire. "Joel, what are you doing?"

Joel's answer was to roar and leap to his feet, demented eyes snapping to Gavin. Before he could make another move Ryan kicked him in the chest. Joel staggered backwards, snarled and hissed and tried again to run but Ryan kept him back with another kick. 

Michael and Jack were on their feet and ready to fight. Gavin whimpered when Joel made grasping motion towards him, trying to dance around Ryan who kept pushing him back.   
Geoff stood still in-between the raging Vampire and the rest of his friends. His hand itched to grab his sword but his mind wouldn't let it.

"What's happening?" yelled Michael over Joel's roars.

"I don't know!" repeated Ryan. "I think he's turning into a Demon!"

"Do something!" shouted Geoff. 

"I can't!" huffed Ryan. He blocked another attempt by grabbing Joel by the waist and throwing him into the dirt. 

Joel thrashed, messily getting to his feet and trying again and again with all the force he possessed. Ryan was doing his best but he was being extremely careful not to be touched by Joel's claws and little by little, he was losing terrain. 

"Jack," he said in-between clenched teeth as he blocked a blow and only narrowly avoided being mauled by Joel's claws. "Set him on fire."

"What?" yelped Jack.

"Are you crazy?!" raged Geoff.

"It's the only solution I see. He's already gone!" said Ryan. "You won't save him, there is no cure! He won't stop until he's drunk Gavin dry!"

Geoff's jaw twitched. Jack brought his hands against his chest. 

"I can't!" he protested. 

"Of course you can! If you don't do it he'll kill us all. Set him. On. Fire!"

Joel snarled. Jack didn't move. He couldn't... he couldn't do it. 

Ryan roared in frustration. "You don't wanna do it?" he shouted. "Then deal with that!" And he stepped aside, leaving a clear path between Joel and Gavin. 

With a horrible scream, Joel threw himself at the Dryad. Jack's fingers were clicking before he could think about it, and moments before he could reach his prey Joel's clothes caught fire.

It spread so fast, as if Joel himself was flammable. The Vampire dropped down, shrieking as the fire devoured him whole. Michael frantically pushed a screaming Gavin away from he blaze. 

Jack couldn't look away from the writhing body. It took almost a full minute for Joel's screams to stop. 

The flames slowly died down. All that was left of their friend was a pile of ash that scattered in the next gust of wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry...?


	12. Chapter 12

Without a word of warning Ryan took off. 

Geoff swore and started running after him, leaving a nearly catatonic Jack and a frantic Michael and Gavin behind. 

"Stop, you son of a bitch!" he shouted at the Vampire, but Ryan was too fast. He lost him almost immediately and was left spinning on himself in the middle of the forest. 

Frustration and anger swelled in his chest, powerful and painful. He screamed and his voice echoed against the trees, coming back to him as if to taunt him.

"You're very angry for an earth Elemental."

Geoff snapped around. There stood Ryan, silhouetted in the dark. His eyes were bright red like hot coal. 

"I thought you guys were all about respecting Mother Nature's calm and nurturing ways."

"Nature is always fucking angry," panted Geoff. "It's just that you can't fucking hear it."

He raised an arm and a thick root sprung from the earth and trapped Ryan's legs in a grip that would have broken a Human. 

"What are you doing?" snapped the Vampire.

"Where did you just go?"

"I went to see if we've attracted unwanted attention, Joel wasn't exactly quiet! I wasn't leaving!"

"Why did you fucking force Jack to kill him?" shouted Geoff. "What kind of sick fucking game are you playing!"

"I had no choice!" protested Ryan. "Joel is stronger than the Demons I usually fight. I couldn't risk him killing me and turning me too, could I! You guys need me."

"I don't know you," spat Geoff. "I don't fucking trust you."

"I helped you!" said Ryan, outraged. 

"You were saving your own skin as well, don't lie! All those Demons would have turned to you as soon as they were finished with Gavin, wouldn't they?"

Ryan narrowed his eyes dangerously. He didn't deny anything.

"You trusted Joel and Joel trusted me," he said after a brief silence. 

"He never said he trusted you."

"He brought you to me."

"We're desperate!" shouted Geoff. "We have zero chances against an army of you's and Joel knew it. You were his one shot in the dark, but now he's not here anymore I don't have to go through with this!"

Geoff panted in the silence. He passed a hand on his arm, fingers scrapping at the scars. 

"But you're right, I trusted Joel. Fat lot of good that did me, huh? If I put my trust into you, are you also going to slash the Dryad's throat at the first occasion? Are you here just so you can have a whole field of them that you can hunt?"

Ryan grunted as the root around him tightened. 

"I can crush you," said Geoff.

Ryan's eyes flashed. "So can I." His voice was low and dangerous. 

He sunk his claws into the root. It ripped in half as easily as if it had been a human's throat. 

Branches immediately reached for him to the rhythm of Geoff's movements, but Ryan avoided them with ease. In one leap, he was on Geoff and pinning his arms to the ground. 

"I know you're grieving and not thinking entirely straight," he said, deep and rumbling. "And I'm sorry about Joel. But I am not here so you can let your anger loose on me. What do you need to believe in my good intentions? Do you want me to give a bath to the Dryad? Let him paint my toenails?" 

Ryan's grip was hard and cold as stone. Geoff could barely move under him.

"I want to come," said the Vampire. "And I will, whether you take me with you or not. I am not about to let an army of those bastards get either the Dryads or the Humans."

With that Ryan jumped back, releasing Geoff who scrambled back to his feet. Anger was coiling in his guts still, burning through his veins. 

"And if you're worried about me," said Ryan, and somehow his voice was gentler, "you have my permission to set me on fire as soon as you think I'm doing something shoddy."

"I don't need your permission."

"You have it anyway." 

"Geoff!!" shouted Gavin's voice. 

Geoff twitched. Something had happened. He couldn't leave the kids and Jack alone back there.

"You want my trust?" he said. "Stay here. Don't fucking move until I come back."

To his surprise, Ryan nodded in agreement almost immediately. 

"Geoff!!

"Coming!" shouted Geoff. 

With one last look at the Vampire, he turned around and ran to Gavin, Michael and Jack.

_***_

When he found them, they were not alone. There was Ray standing to the side, hunched over, and there was Joe, and there was a giant falcon almost as tall as Michael who blinked at Geoff. 

"Hello," it said pleasantly. 

"Yeah. Hi."

"I'm Burnie."

"Geoff."

"Where's Ryan?" asked Michael suspiciously. 

"Don't worry about him," said Geoff. 

"Guys..." Ray had taken a few steps back, arms wrapped around himself in a useless protection. His voice was shaking. "Guys, what happened to you?"

Gavin walked up to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Oh man, you're here at the worst time," he said sadly. "Come on Ray, do what I told you. Block out the emotions..."

"But what happened?" asked Ray, slightly hysterical.

"Joel died," said Jack. His voice was flat, factual. "I killed him."

"It's nobody's fault but his own," said Geoff quickly. "He tried to kill Gavin. We had to react."

"How did that..." Ray's voice broke off at the end of his sentence. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Oh no. I don't like this."

"Ray!" yelped Gavin. "Come on! Block it out!"

"I can't..." 

Gavin looked around with wide eyes. "Everyone, just stop feeling!" 

"Don't start panicking Gavin!" shouted Michael. "You're not helping if you add the panic!"

"You stop being angry, anger's bad too!"

Jack started backing away, afraid his presence was what was too much for the poor empath. Gavin and Michael shouted at each other and at Ray, talking over each other and being spectacularly unhelpful as Ray shrunk on himself. Grief, anger and fear were all hitting him hard from every side.   
It was all dissolving into chaos and Geoff was getting a serious headache. He had to step in. 

"Shut the fuck up!! Gavin and Joe you stay here and watch over Ray until he's stable. If anything attacks you, run away, don't wait for us. Jack, Burnie, Michael, you're with me. We need to leave the empath alone."

"But where are we going?" asked Michael. 

"I have to talk with Ryan some more."

_***_

Ryan looked up as Jack, Michael, Geoff and a very big falcon hopping on its legs came into view. Geoff's eyes narrowed at him, and Ryan looked at him calmly from where he was sitting down, leaning against a tree.

"You moved," Geoff said between tight lips.

"I sat." 

"If you move again before I tell you to, I'm ending you. And don't even think about attacking Jack."

"Why would I want to attack Jack?"

"Because you think he's the only one who can defeat you quickly," said Geoff. "If it ever crosses your mind to take him down, I want you to know that you'll be reduced to ashes if I have to fucking kindle fire out of thin air myself. Understood?"

Ryan nodded docilely. 

"So now, you're going to talk," said Geoff. "And do it quickly."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Why do you want to help us? Why are you here and not with the other Vampires? Who the fuck are you?"

Ryan felt a flare of anger in him and knew his eyes had flashed red when he saw Michael and Geoff both reaching for their swords. 

"Geoff, what are you doing?" inquired Michael nervously. 

"I'm keeping you guys safe," said Geoff, determined. His gaze was on Ryan and it was not moving. 

"Keeping us safe involves angering a Vampire?"

"Shut up. Ryan, start talking!"

"No," said Ryan.

"Are you fucking serious?" Geoff's hands closed into fists and the earth rumbled under their feet. "I will fucking kill you right now."

"Try it," said Ryan, unflappable. 

The frustration wafting off of Geoff was powerful enough to be felt even without being an empath. Ryan supposed he'd gone a little too far -agitating Geoff even more was not going to work in his favor right now. Maybe he should mellow down.

"I told you already, Geoff, I'm coming with you whether you want it or not. I too have a thing or two to say to the Vampires. Or rather, a thing or two to rip out of their body... I'm going to help you, I swear. If I weren't I would have drunk Gavin already, wouldn't I!"

"Fucking--... Fine!" said Geoff. He turned to Jack. "You have my authorisation to kill him if he does anything suspicious."

Jack didn't say anything but Geoff didn't linger on him.

"Burnie," he said turning to the falcon who had stayed respectfully silent all along, "Have you ever fought Vampires?"

"I have," said Burnie with a nod. 

"You will know what to do with him if he betrays us?"

"I will."

"See?" said Geoff to Ryan. "You're surrounded. So no funny business."

"Fine," said Ryan. 

"What a weird combination of people," commented Burnie quietly. 

"Tell me about it," grumbled Michael. "It's a goddamned clusterfuck, that's what it is. Geoff's unhinged--

"Fuck you," cut in Geoff. 

"--Jack's traumatized, our best asset's dead, Gavin's scared to death, and Ray's barely functional. You and Joe are probably the most operational out of all of us."

"I'll help however I can," promised Burnie. "Vampires have never been my friends," he said, throwing an icy glare towards Ryan.

"Did you fight in the last Battle, then?" asked Michael.

"I didn't. I wasn't in this world then."

"Where were yo-- oh," said Michael. "You were with the Dryads?"

"Yeah."

"What were you doing?"

"Guarding the Vampires."

Everyone paused and turned to Burnie. "What, sorry?"

"I was a guard at the Vampires' prison," repeated Burnie.

"What... how..." stuttered Michael. "Joe didn't tell us about that."

"I didn't want him to," said Burnie. "I don't want the world to know and crowd me, ask me stupid questions and point fingers at me if anything goes wrong... I'll make an exception for you because you really need the help."

"Why aren't you a guard anymore?" asked Geoff.

"All the guards were told to vacate the prison and come guard the Dryad's capital city instead. I never really knew why... The officials said they were going to put some more spells around the prison to keep the Vampires inside and they didn't need us there anymore. I tried to argue that additional security wouldn't hurt, but they wouldn't hear it."

Burnie frowned, which was an odd sight on a falcon, to say the least. "That being said," he continued, "the hundred Vampires in prison were all starving puppets, barely able to stand up. I even saw some of them eat each other to try to calm their hunger... I never thought they'd ever be able to actually attack the Dryads and get the upper hand. They should never have been able to break out."

Ryan's deep voice rising up made everyone tense up on instinct. "What you're saying is that they had exterior help."

"I don't see any other explanation," said Burnie.

"We guessed," said Geoff. "There's no way this rain is the Vampires' work either. There's someone else working with them, Dryad or whatever else. Don't you have an idea?" he asked Burnie. 

"No, sorry. I never saw anything suspicious inside the prison. Whoever it is, they're stealthy."

"Of course," mumbled Geoff. "A powerful, invisible entity. Would have been too easy otherwise, right..." He kicked Ryan, who turned and growled low at him. Geoff didn't care about it. "Stand up. We're going back to Ray and Gavin."


	13. Chapter 13

Joe was curled up around them, forming a protective wall of fur.

Ray was sitting, hugging his knees and looking meekly at Gavin over his glasses. 

"I'm sorry," he said pitifully. "You know, I managed to control myself when we were with the poachers."

"Really?" said Gavin excitedly. "That's top!"

"Yeah... but I wasn't prepared when I found you guys, I couldn't block you out in time... sorry..."

"No, it's fine. Even I had to practice before getting the hang of it, I 'm not surprised you do to." Gavin leaned back against Joe. "So you did it?"

"Yeah... well, not entirely, but I managed to mute out most of the poachers' minds I guess," said Ray with a small shrug. "I think it's easier when Joe's with me, it helps that I can't read him at all. And Burnie too."

"How did you do it?"

"I posed as a lost traveller to go talk to some of the poachers, managed to glean a few information based on how they felt when I asked them questions."

"That's clever," said Gavin appreciatively. 

"Burnie's idea," said Ray. "The guy's clever."

"Bird."

"Oh, yeah. The bird's clever."

Gavin smiled. "I can't wait for you to come to my world. All the empaths we have will be happy to force bad emotions away from you."

"They can do that?" Ray's eyes were big with wonder and Gavin nodded proudly, before his eyes took a gloomier tint. 

"They'll have a lot of things to block," he said sadly. 

Ray put a comforting hand on his knee. "Hey, it'll be all right. You said your people put up more defences, right? Surely they've held on. You've only been here for like a week!"

"Yeah," said Gavin not really convinced. 

There was a small silence before Ray asked, "And you? Are you all right?"

"What?" said Gavin. 

"Dude... I feel this crappy because all of you feel like shit," said Ray. "I shouldn't be the only one getting comfort here."

Gavin's leg was bouncing up and down. "I'm... fine. Joel tried to drink me. But he wasn't himself. So I'm fine, but I'm sad for him... I think Geoff was really relying on him to win this war and now he's not here anymore nobody knows what to do. And now there's Ryan and he did some weird shit to get Jack to kill Joel. He creeps me out. But Michael said he'd protect me, right? Except Ryan is far stronger than Michael and if he decides to slash my throat during the night nobody will ever know and--"

It wasn't until Ray reached out to stop him that Gavin realized he'd been wringing his hands ferociously. 

"Listen, the guys'll watch over you, okay?" said Ray. "I've read their feelings and I can tell you that they like you and will do everything to keep you safe."

Gavin's eyes were fearful. "I don't want to be the reason why Michael dies..."

"Michael knows what he's doing," said Ray. "I mean, I'm aware we don't have the best odds in this situation, I don't think Geoff even has a plan... but I know it and I'm doing it anyway. It's the same for Michael, Geoff, Jack... You only told them the facts, they all chose to follow you by themselves. If anything happens to them, it won't be your fault."

Gavin nodded. Ray gave a chuckle. 

"Dude. I can feel that you don't agree with me. You don't need to lie, I get it. I can't make the guilt go away as easily as this, it's fine. Just think about it, okay?"

"Okay", said Gavin. 

He looked down at Ray's hand on his knee. Himself was really crap at the whole 'comforting' thing, but Ray, who had lived his whole life being chased away and only relying on himself, was good at it. Irony. If Gavin could have found some happiness in him right now, he would have projected it towards the empath without hesitating, to thank him. 

Raised voices reached them. Gavin peered at the threes to see the others as they were coming back.

"You think you're ready to go back to the group?" 

"Yeah," said Ray. "I think so."

Joe unwound himself, and all three of them came to meet the rest of the team. 

They met with an irate Geoff, a confused Michael, an unreadable Burnie, a Ryan who looked even more stand-offish than usual, and a Jack who looked like he would fall over if you blew on him a little too hard.

Geoff grabbed Ryan and pulled him further back, further away from Gavin. The Vampire growled low but he moved nonetheless, and stood there with his arms crossed on his chest and his eyes shining with a reddish tint. 

"You're right," whispered Ray in Gavin's ear. "He's creepier than Joel. I'm almost happy I can't feel him, I don't want to know what fucked up things there are in his mind."

"Gavin, find us an oak," ordered Geoff. "I want to get out of this fucking stupid forest."

"Oh," said Gavin. "We're leaving now?"

"What? You have something else to do?" snapped Geoff. "Wanna go make some friends? There's probably a Demon around here who'll be happy to get to know you!"

"No," said Gavin quickly. "No, I'll... There," he said, pointing in the direction of an oak tree. "There's one about half a mile from here."

"Can you feel them?" asked Michael, curious. 

"Yeah. Dryads are always connected to oak trees, I can tell you how many there are in the whole forest if you want."

"Oh well. That's practical."

They walked to the tree in silence, Geoff careful to keep Ryan in front of him at all times, one hand on the pommel of his sword and the other grasping Jack's cloak to force him to walk forward. The poor fire Elemental really didn't look good.

Gavin easily found the tree. It was big, gnarly, and when the Dryad approached it began to glow. 

It was very a faint, very soft golden glow, but it was quite beautiful, and to Gavin it was home. He put a hand against its bark and closed his eyes. There was the sound of a bell tingling ever so softly, and a soft wind ruffled their hair.

Gavin reopened his eyes. 

"Put your hand on the bark," he said. "Or paws," he added. 

Burnie chuckled, hopping over to touch the tree with his wing without a hint of apprehension, as if he'd done it a hundred times before. He disappeared. 

"Wow," said Michael. "That's quick."

"Come on guys!"

Michael came up hesitantly. He looked at Gavin.

"You sure I won't end up somewhere fucking weird, right?"

"It's an oak tree, Michael," said Gavin sensibly. "It can't send you anywhere else than in my world."

"You never know! With your level of stupidity..."

Gavin pouted. "Come on!!"

"All right, all right."

Michael took a deep breath, closed his eyes, touched the bark, and disappeared. 

One by one, everyone else followed. Ryan had a determined look on his face as he crossed over, one that gave Gavin chills. 

Now the only one left, Gavin followed his companions to his homeland.

The glow around the tree slowly faded away, leaving the forest still and silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all right. finally going into the Dryad world...


	14. Chapter 14

The world was vibrant green and shining gold. 

The grass under Michael's feet was lush and soft. The oak trees all around him were thick and gnarly, though still the sun rays peeked through the leaves and reached the ground, leaving specks of gold on the grass. Small flowers and bushes of various colors were peppered amongst all the green. There was a slight breeze blowing, and a warmth to the air that was just a little too much for Michael. 

Burnie was busy brushing his feathers. Ray and Joe appeared out of nowhere, followed by Ryan and Geoff and Jack closely behind. They all looked around with the same wonder on their face that Michael felt, even the stoic Vampire. 

Gavin appeared last, and immediately tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his face. While Ray started chuckling, Michael did his best to contain his laughter.

"You all right?"

"Fine," said Gavin. He rolled onto his back, his eyes tracing the foliage above him. "I'm home," he said. His tone wasn't as happy as it ought to be. 

Michael looked down at him and frowned. "Are you glowing, dude?"

"Am I?" Gavin looked at his arms that were giving off the same kind of golden light the oak tree had. "Maybe a little."

Michael looked around. "Well. It sure as hell isn't a Back Forest. It's pretty around here."

"Told you!"

"Are we... still on the same island as the Human world?"

"Yeah. I think our two worlds overlap, they just don't exist at the same time."

Michael grimaced. "Okay, let's stop the creepy magical mumbo jumbo."

"Come on Gavin," called Geoff. "We can't stay in the open like this. Find us your village."

"Right."

Gavin scrambled to his feet and looked around him. He grabbed a tree and hopped on the bark, climbing up as easily as if he were a freaking squirrel. 

"What the fuck?" said Michael. "Since when can you do this?"

Gavin looked down at them. "Do what?"

"You just fucking climbed a tree like it was nothing, dude!"

"Oh. I don't know, it's just easier for me in my world. Yours is too constraining."

Gavin climbed a little more, stopped on a thick branch and put a hand over his eyes to look in the distance. No one talked while he was up there, allowing for the sound of hundreds of little creatures to reach their ears. Michael was surprised. He hadn't realised how long it had been since he'd heard a forest be alive... The Vampires' forests and the Field hadn't held much life in them. 

"What's going on?" asked Ray all of a sudden, looking up at Gavin. 

The Dryad looked down at him briefly and without answering, hopped onto another branch seemingly easily to look in the other direction.

"What?" asked Michael. 

"I don't know," said Ray. "He's distraught about something."

Fucking creepy empath, thought Michael, though he held his tongue. So maybe Ray was a nice guy -it still didn't negate the fact that reading other people was fucking creepy. 

"He can't see the Beacon," said Burnie quietly. 

"He can't what?"

"The Beacon!" shouted Gavin from his tree. "I can't see it!"

"Oh..." Michael vaguely remembered Gavin telling him about that. "You mean that giant ball of light that warms up your world?"

"Yeah! It's in our capital city... and it's always shining! I should see it!"

Burnie deployed his wings, forcing Geoff, Jack and Ryan to move out of the way of their impressive reach. The Falcon took off, slaloming through the branches to disappear above the treetops. 

"What does it mean if it's off?" asked Geoff. 

"I... don't know," said Gavin. He turned in yet another direction and tried again.

"Gavin?" called Ray. "You should get down."

"But.... the Beacon..."

"Ray's right," said Michael, watching as Gavin's feet were dancing nervously. "Get down, we'll talk about it on the ground."

"But... You can't bloody turn the Beacon off!" Gavin definitely looked distraught now. He started gesticulating wildly as if it was helping get his point across. "It's a ball of warmth! It's like a small sun! How do you turn that off? You don't! It doesn't turn off! It's not... it's not..."

"Gavin!" barked Geoff. "Get the fuck down!"

Gavin startled. "Right, right..."

The Dryad's feet skittered on the bark and his weedy arms worked feebly. The descent was a lot less elegant than the climbing, he looked more like an awkward kitten who overestimated its capabilities and less like a lithe squirrel. Michael was convinced the Dryad would have already fallen down if it weren't for Geoff bending some branches around to ensure Gavin's feet always found purchase.

Burnie came back down, his large wings creating a strong wind that blew Michael's hair in his eyes. 

"He's right, the Beacon is off -whatever that means," he said as he landed. "But I think I managed to locate the Capital City anyway, it's not that far. I'll guide you."

Gavin was almost to the ground when he finally slipped. He fell the rest of the way down and landed like a sac of potatoes, limbs splayed around him. 

"You're an idiot," lamented Geoff. "I turn my eyes away from you five seconds and you nearly break your neck!"

Michael looked down at him. "I thought you were light as a feather in your world."

"Feathers fall," mumbled Gavin. 

Gavin's clumsy limbs flailed around until he was back on his feet, patting himself to remove dirt and grass off his clothes. 

Burnie started jumping away and everyone followed silently. It was some time later that Michael noticed Gavin and Ray were holding hands, and Gavin's fingers were trembling around the empath's palm.

_***_

Michael had already felt like the heat was a bit too much upon arriving into this world, but now he was walking and moving about it started to become very uncomfortable. 

There was also the fact that the grass grew taller and taller as they walked and soon they couldn't even see their feet, leading to them stumbling on unseen rocks and branches. Geoff was the only one having it easy as the grass simply parted before him as he walked, leading Michael, Ray and Gavin to start walking close behind him. Ryan didn't seem all that bothered either, and Jack was too far gone in his self-loathing to care much about where he put his feet anyway and stumbled without realizing it.

To add to everything, Michael's armor might have been the lightest but it was still metal and made him heat up even quicker. It was only a matter of minutes before he started sweating profusely and his water skin was empty. He was about to ask Gavin for his when the procession ahead of them stopped in their tracks. 

"What?" asked Gavin, running quickly to Burnie and Joe at the front. "Why are we stopping? Are we there?"

"No," said Burnie. "Can't you feel it, Dryad?"

"Huh? Feel what?"

Michael didn't feel anything besides heat. He glanced at Ray, but the empath seemed equally clueless, looking around trying to see something else than oak trees and tall grass. At least nobody looked alarmed so, there was that.

"Oh!" exclaimed Gavin all of a sudden. "Oh!"

"What?"

"There!!"

Michael looked where Gavin was pointing. There was a lot of grass, a few flowers, and a white rock the size of Michael's hand. 

"... I'm still not getting it."

Gavin picked up the rock. A shimmer passed through the air like a wave on the sea, and the forest ahead trembled slightly out of focus for just a second. 

Ray articulated perfectly well what Michael was thinking. "Whaaat?"

"It's a Fence," said Burnie. "The Dryads put it here to protect themselves." 

"It means they're still alive!" said Gavin with a little happy jump. "They're still alive and they're hiding! Come on, all of you, walk through!"

Geoff grabbed Jack by the arm and pulled him as he walked past Gavin without a question. Ryan followed slowly, a little apprehension in his steps. Ray shrugged and went after Joe and Burnie. 

"You gonna hold this stone forever?" asked Michael. 

"I'll put it back down once you've walked inside."

Michael looked at it carefully. "What is the fence made of?"

"Magic," said Gavin as if this was the most obvious thing ever. Michael had never seen actual magic, how the fuck would he know?

"Does it protect us from above too?" asked Michael, looking up.

"Yeah. It's called a fence but it's more like a dome. We're under an invisible dome!" said Gavin happily.

"You people are fucking weird..."

This prompted Gavin to start talking with great enthusiasm about Dryad magic as they followed Burnie further into the forest, even though there were clearly very big gaps in his knowledge. 

He'd been going on about it for a while already when Michael interjected. 

"So if I understood everything, the white stones are basically locks that hold the invisible magical fence in place?"

"Yup."

"So you taking the rock off the ground unlocked a sort of door that allowed us to walk through."

"Huh huh."

"So if the rock isn't put back down where it was, the door stays open?"

"Basically, yeah."

"I see, I see... By the way, Gavin..."

"Yeah?"

"You haven't put the rock back down."

Gavin stilled and looked down at his hand, fingers enclosed around the small white stone. There was a beat as he blinked owlishly at it.

"Oh shit," he breathed, and he turned around and ran like hell in the opposite direction.

He came back a minute later to Michael who was trying his hardest not to laugh. 

"You idiot," he grumbled, "why didn't you tell me earlier? It's dangerous! Vampires could have followed us!"

"I didn't know!" defended Michael. "And come on. Ryan would have sensed it if there were Vampires around."

"I don't trust Ryan," said Gavin grumpily.

"Huh.. yeah okay you've got a point here."

The fatigue of the night before quickly caught up to them and they had to stop in the middle of the afternoon to rest. The Dryads' city was still nowhere in sight, but Burnie affirmed they were closing in on it. 

"We should be seeing people walking around then," said Gavin quietly, looking about as if he expected a Dryad to jump out of a bush. 

"Gavin, your people are preparing for a war," said Geoff pragmatically. "The fact that you don't see them sauntering around is not really a sign that they've been attacked, it's a sign that they're being cautious. We're protected by the fence here, right?"

Gavin nodded quietly but he still looked unsure. He sat down as far from Ryan as possible (just like everyone else. Only Geoff and Burnie were close to him, visibly ready to jump on him at the first sign of treason). Jack was sitting on his own, looking at his feet. 

Michael felt like his armor weighed two tons more than it should. He'd borrowed Gavin's water skin but now that one was empty as well. So while everyone was resting, he stood back up. He'd heard water running just minutes earlier...

He found a stream that fell into a tiny lake. The water was sparkling clear and made Michael want to drink it all right here, right now. It looked even prettier than the magic healing water.

He crouched and plunged his hands in. A voice shouted.

"Don't drink that!"

Michael jumped out of his skin and his hand went to his sword.

"What?" he asked, throwing nervous glances everywhere. There was no one around to answer him. 

Still, the voice came up again. 

"That water's not for you."

It was a large bush by the side of the lake. It was talking to him. Michael frowned at it. 

Were bushes supposed to talk? Well, Michael had seen talking giant cats and eagles and undead Vampires those last few days. Would a talking bush really be that odd?

"Sorry," he said. "Is it your water then?"

"My water? Of course it's not my water. What do you want me to do with it?"

"Huh... I don't know... drink it? Isn't that what your... kind... does?"

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Michael decided it was best to leave mysterious bushes alone. He took a few steps back, only to bump into Gavin who was coming up behind him. 

"Michael! I finally found you! You shouldn't go out on your own without telling anyone, you scared me! What are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Gavin," said Michael. "I was going to take some water from this lake but the bush said not to..."

"The bush? What bush?"

Michael pointed at the thick mess of leaves and blue flowers. Gavin didn't look convinced. 

"The bush told you not to drink? I mean, yeah, that water's poisonous. But the bush?"

"Well, it talked!"

A mad giggle came out of the bush. Soon, Gavin joined in. 

"Michael, you silly sausage!" he spluttered. "It's not a bloody bush talking!"

A head popped up from the guts of the shrub, a big goofy smile on its face. The guy's thin, pointy ears, his iridescent eyes, and a golden glow floating around him gave him away.

"Oh," whispered Michael. 

"It's Miles!" said Gavin, running to the guy and hugging him. "You're all right!!"

"Hey, Gavin," said Miles, squeezing Gavin gently. "Who's the guy who thought I was a bush?"

"That's Michael, a friend."

"That's a Human."

"Well, yes."

"So you did it!" shouted the Dryad excitedly. He jumped out of the bush and did a little happy dance around Gavin. "You brought the Humans!!"

"No, wait--"

"I knew we could count on you! Even the Leaders thought you'd fail but you did it!"

"Miles, listen to me--"

"Come on, we have to get back to the others quickly! Where's the rest of the army?"

"There is no army, Miles!" 

Miles stopped bouncing. His smile stayed plastered on his face, but his eyes dulled as they went from Michael to Gavin.

Gavin looked defeated. "The King threw me out. Nobody wanted to help... except a few people, and I've brought them here. But they're far from being an army... We're eight, Miles."

The Dryad's smile still didn't waver. "Oh, okay... well, it's always eight more than we have, right? It's got to be a plus..."

"There are two Elementals," said Michael. Might as well highlight the few strong points of their team.

"That's great!"

"And two giant animal... things."

"Things? Okay, I'll take things as long as they're giant and helpful."

"And a Vampire."

That finally made Miles' smile fall.


	15. Chapter 15

Everyone was sitting around. They were even, Ray thought, pretty damn stationary. 

Joe, Burnie and Geoff were guarding Ryan like bloodhounds ready to jump, Ryan was watching them with some nervousness that he tried to hide behind smugness, and Jack... well, Jack was still looking at his feet, sitting listlessly against an oak tree. 

Geoff had spent a good minute looking at his friend before tsk'ing and turning away. Ray could feel grief and a stupid amount of anger flying out of the Elemental and hitting against his mental shields like arrows trying to lodge themselves in his brain.

He'd had the time to adjust to anger in his life, and Michael's presence in the vicinity meant anger was around anyway, it was pretty much the guard's signature. But Michael's anger was an undercurrent ; it had the force and the weight of a powerful river, but it was steady. 

Geoff's current rage was of another kind. It was filled with pain and worry and hopelessness. It freaking hurt. Ray hated it with a passion and currently dedicated most of his energy to keeping it at bay. 

From Jack, he could feel enough guilt to make a wiser man kill himself, and some fear mixed in there. Now guilt and fear, Ray was very familiar with. 

Geoff now looking away, Ray moved to Jack's side. 

"Hey," he said softly. 

Jack only glanced at him briefly before looking back at his feet. Ray sighed and went for it.

"I hope you realize you're being stupid," he said. "Gavin only glossed over most of the details, but from what I understood... If you hadn't killed Joel, then he would be dead by now. Maybe Geoff and Michael would be, too. And you. Everyone dead, and where would it leave the Dryads, huh?"

Jack's brow creased with a slight frown. 

"Maybe Ryan shouldn't have forced you," Ray went on, "but given the circumstances... you did the right thing. The guilt you're feeling right now -and by the way, it's not my fault if I know about that, you're just broadcasting it all around and I can't help it- would have been appropriate if you had left Gavin die. It's not compatible with you saving his life."

There was another pause, and Jack's frown increased slightly. 

"I get it, I really do," said Ray with a slight shrug. "But just think about that, hm? Because I'm pretty sure Ryan's not right in the brain and you're the only one who can kick his ass in a timely fashion so I need you to be operational before we all die. Otherwise you'll have a really good reason to feel as bad as you do. I'll haunt you to make you remember to feel bad!"

Jack started chuckling, and Ray smirked. He'd felt the rise of bewilderment and then slightly hysterical amusement in him. He was pretty pleased to have caused this, even if he wasn't entirely sure how he'd done it.

"Either you are awful at pep talks, or you're really awesome at it," said Jack. "I can't decide." He rubbed at his eyes with a tired groan. "I know I need to pull it together. It's just-... I'd never k-killed anyone before. Starting with a friend is... hard."

Ray patted him on the back. "Yeah. I imagine it is."

"Am I not hurting you or something?" asked Jack in concern.

"Nah. Gavin's an idiot, but he actually knows about empathy. He's a good teacher. I can mute most of your wimpy little self-hate fest."

Jack laughed again. "Dude. You're just terrible."

"I think that's my charm. You gonna be all right, then?"

"I'll try."

"Good enough."

The silence that followed was less tense and more friendly. Ray was pretty happy with himself... now if only he thought he could talk to Geoff too without being decapitated by a branch, he would. But the earth Elemental's mood was still thunderous and dangerous and Ray wasn't disposed to die right about now. 

He felt the familiar feel of Michael and Gavin approach after a while -and something else. At first it was simply another presence, another person who was feeling a sort of bubbly anticipation, but soon the feeling changed. There was a thing that... flew his way. It entered his brain and tapped against his mind like a polite travelling salesman wanting to be granted access. 

Ray yelped and jumped to his feet with the skills and softness of a diseased grasshopper, his mind reeling and trying to push away this weird sensation. 

"What?" asked Geoff. "What's happening?"

Three people came into view then. Gavin and Michael, both drinking from their respective water skins, and another Dryad who stopped at a careful distance from the rest of them, his eyes going from one to another and then resting on Ryan. A shiver ran through him.

"I told you he wouldn't like it," said Gavin, looking at Ray. 

The new Dryad blinked away from Ryan. "What? Oh... Oh I'm sorry, did I scare you?" he asked. 

Ray gulped. "Scare me? That was you? Yeah you scared me! What the hell!!"

"Sorry! I just wanted to greet you. I thought if you felt me you could inform the others I was coming your way."

"That... that... you came into my brain!!" said Ray in a very unmanly squeal. 

"No I didn't! I simply sent some friendliness!"

"I told you he wasn't used to it!" said Gavin. 

"Yes. Sorry."

"Who the fuck are you?" asked Geoff.

Jack stood, a hand held up to stop Geoff from insulting the new guy. 

"Hello," he said amicably. "We're quite glad to see another Dryad, we were worried..."

"Hi," said the Dryad. "I'm Miles. Gavin told me about you guys..." He stopped for a second, then shrugged. "Well, you're not quite what I was expecting, but it's better than nothing!"  He smiled. 

"What are you doing here? Are you allowed to leave the village?" asked Burnie.

"Oh, we're not in the village anymore," said Miles. "It got kind of.. destroyed... And hum, our heat source was ruined by the Vampires. We hid somewhere else. I'll lead you guys to it right now! And I'll keep my mind to myself," he added at Ray's attention. 

"Yeah. Thanks."

Ray received a brief spike of fear and turned around to see Ryan hiss at Geoff, who seemed to have pulled him forcefully to his feet. This idiot was going to get himself mauled by the Vampire and nobody would be surprised...

Once again they went. The trip was short though, just long enough for Miles to go on about the survivors' hiding place : underground. 

"We found a small cave, and, well, we expanded. A bit of magic and now it's a lot bigger... It's all a bit caved-in, a bit cold and a bit shitty. But it's safe!" Miles smiled. "The magicians hid it. It's a lot easier to manage, one single door, rather than being out in the open in our villages."

"And what about the beacon?" asked Gavin. 

"Well... the Vampires targeted it during their last offence. We lost so many people... I don't think you knew any of them personally, Gavin... but it was fucking horrible. There's only a handful of us left now."

There was silence for a moment. 

"So what do we do without the beacon?" asked Gavin in a tiny voice. "It's going to get colder and colder in the forest. If we even survive the Vampires we won't survive the cold..."

"Well. There's fires."

"Miles..."

"Look, I don't know what the plan for the future is. I'm just a stupid kid, nobody tells me anything! I guess you guys will be granted an audience with the Elders, you'll be able to ask them everything you want."

"They really haven't told you anything? About what we're going to do?"

"If you want my opinion," sighed Miles, "they don't have any idea. The last Vampire raid just smashed through the Fences. We're all scared shitless and it looks like what little magic we have won't last long."

"Why are you out, then?" asked Ray. 

"I don't like the underground. It doesn't feel right."

"It's a war shelter," pointed out Burnie. "It's never going to feel right."

"Yeah... I guess so."

"Can I ask a question?" asked Michael.

"Shoot."

"Why don't you have Gavin's accent? I thought all Dryads talked in that smug voice."

"Gav's family used to be magicians," said Miles, as if this explained everything. 

"... So?"

"So," said Gavin, "magicians used to have a quite high status and lived a bit isolated. They had their own kind of accent. My family hasn't had any magic in them for generations but we've kept the accent."

"Weird," said Michael.

"Tradition," shrugged Gavin.

Miles stopped in front of a white boulder. With his index finger he traced something on it, and then put his hands against it and pushed. 

That boulder must have weighed several tons. Miles should never have been able to make it move. Yet there he was, pushing the boulder away and revealing a large hole in the ground under it.

"The fuck..." mumbled Michael. 

"Magic," answered Gavin simply. 

"Yeah. I'm starting to get it."

_***_

"You stay there."

Ryan glared at Geoff. His eyes were their usual icy blue, but his gaze burnt as if it were red and hot. Geoff didn't budge.

"You're going to make everyone panic in there. You stay outside until I tell you to come in."

Ryan nodded, though his eyes hadn't gone any softer. Geoff made a root creep to the surface and trap the Vampire's foot. 

"This forest is more alive than anything in our world. If your foot gets out, it will tell me about it in a second," he warned. "And I'll come out and throw the fires of hell after you. Understood?" 

He received only silence and an utterly unimpressed look. Geoff figured he wouldn't get anything more out of Ryan and turned around. He nodded at Jack, who had stayed by him while the others had all jumped down the hole. 

There was a sketchy rope ladder going down. While Jack took it, Geoff didn't heed it and simply jumped. 

They found themselves in an underground cave that had been hastily carved into the earth. A large tunnel at the back lead further underground still. It was very humid and, though colder than outside, still unnaturally hot for a cave. That was easily explained by the fact that hundreds of lit up torches were hung along the dirt walls. 

Miles and the others were waiting for them. 

"Where's Ryan?" asked Michael. 

"Waiting," said Geoff. 

Michael didn't push the subject. Above their heads, the white boulder rolled back into place by itself. 

Miles lead them inside the tunnel. 

It only took one turn, and they arrived into what was clearly the main room -as far as this thing could be called a room. It was just a very, very large artificial cave. 

The walls had obviously been carved grossly, by a combination of explosions and elbow grease. The ground was damp earth though it had been covered in parts by blankets, branches, even clothes stitched together into miserable carpets. 

In the middle of the room was a giant fire, and five Dryads were sitting right next to it with a pile of branches and logs by their side. The room was over-populated, with maybe a thousand Dryads crammed together, and the fire was far too close to them. If a piece of hot coal fell on those blankets, they were all going up in flames.

Jack had quickly reached the same conclusion, Geoff saw him clasp his hands together discreetly. The large fire narrowed, its most adventurous flames receded calmly until the whole thing settled into a square-ish shape, as if an invisible box had been put over it and was containing it neatly between four walls and a ceiling. 

Their entry had been noticed by a few people already, but after that little trick everyone turned their heads towards them, and the mush of conversations that could be heard before died down almost immediately. The only noise that was left was a baby somewhere in the mess of people, making happy little gurgling noises.

The respite didn't last long though. Someone shouted something that Geoff didn't understand, and then part of the mass of people ran at them, all talking over each other and shouting things left and right. There was a staggering number of Dryads all trying to talk at the same time, pleading and begging, asking things that Geoff couldn't understand.

Someone pulled Miles away, and Gavin ran after him like an idiot. Hands started patting Geoff and Jack, others started pulling at them in all directions at the same time. It felt like he was being swallowed. He heard Joe meow dangerously.

While Geoff was busy trying to rip free of the grabby hands and tell everyone to fuck off, an elbow hit him in the back. 

"Geoff, you have to stop this," shouted Michael urgently. 

"What?!"

"Ray's not going to fucking make it!"

Geoff craned his neck to look behind. Ray was being held up by Michael and looked like he would crumble without the support. His arms were over his head, trying to block out things that he couldn't escape. 

"Just--Fucking let me go!" growled Geoff at a Dryad who was desperately trying to drag him to wherever. "What do you want me to fucking do? Those people are crazy! Where the fuck is Gavin?! Let. Me. Go. You stupid dick!"

"Gavin's not here! You're the leader here! Do something!"

"Who the fuck told you I was the leader?"

"Geoff!!"

"Oh fuck..." Geoff raised both hands swiftly. The ground above their heads started shaking. "EVERYONE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. 

It had the desired effect. The Dryads closest to him jumped back in fright, the others cowered. They were all really big scaredy-cats, noted Geoff. He lowered his arms and the ceiling stilled. 

"Good!" he said loudly and clearly. "Gavin! Where the fuck are you!"

Somewhere in the middle of a sea of Dryads, Gavin's weedy arms waved in the air. 

"Here! Excuse me, sorry, pardon me..." Gavin made a little path through his people to reach Geoff. 

"Gavin, take care of Ray. What's happening to him?"

"Oh god..." Gavin ran to the empath and took him from Michael. "Hum, too much, I think. Everyone's emotions are soaring..."

"Then make them stop it!"

Gavin blinked at him stupidly, and Geoff sighed. If he had to do everything himself...

"Everyone!" he shouted. "Shield your emotions! We have an unstable empath here and it's not going to be pretty if he explodes!"

The change was immediate, even Geoff noticed it. The atmosphere became lighter, somehow. Some of the younger Dryads had an expression of intense focus on their face as they did their best to tame a power they obviously didn't fully control yet. Geoff heard Ray take a big breath.

"Great," he said, quieter. His voice was now echoing around the walls as a thousand scared Dryads stayed silent as a grave. 

Geoff took a second to locate the rest of the team. Jack was just by his side, Gavin and Michael were busy trying to hold Ray together. Miles was lost somewhere. Burnie and Joe were a little further away and three little Dryad children had approached them and were petting them, apparently not giving a single crap about what was happening around them as long as there were giant animals to stroke. Neither of said animals seemed to mind. 

"Okay," said Geoff to allow himself to organise some kind of thought. "Where are your leaders?"

There was no answer. 

"You commanding officers? Your soldiers?"

"They are outside," said someone. 

"What, all of them?"

Several Dryads nodded. 

"Why?" asked Geoff. This made no fucking sense.

"Something triggered our alarms," said the same courageous Dryad. "They went to see what it was."

"That must have been us," whispered Jack contritely. 

"Right..." said Geoff, grimacing. "All of them just went out? No one stayed with you?"

Heads shook negatively. Geoff gritted his teeth. No wonder everyone here lost their mind, they were all scared shitless and there wasn't a single figure of authority around to herd them all. 

"We can take you to the Elders!" said Miles. He jumped up, waving his arms to make himself seen in the crowd. "The Elders will be here!"

Another Dryad yanked him back down. She looked very displeased with him and whispered something in his ear, but he ignored her.

"Okay, let's see the Elders then," said Geoff. "Where are they?"

"Over there!"

Miles kept on jumping towards a door at the back of the room. The girl followed him, obviously displeased with this turn of events. 

"Okay," said Geoff. Every single pair of eyes was on him. He could see scars on some faces, bandages around some limbs. Hapless people, wounded and alone. "I just want you all to know, we are here to help as much as we can. We'll consult with your soldiers and work with them -but we're not a magical remedy either so... let us just get our bearings first. Don't jump on us! We won't solve your problems by clicking our fingers, we need a time to think. All right?" They nodded. "We will probably have to ask some of you a few questions afterward. I hope you'll have calmed down and huh..." 

Geoff wanted to say "lowered you expectations", but he stopped himself. 

"And be in a helpful mood. Now if you'll excuse us..." 

Burnie and Joe pushed the children away kindly, and Ray managed to stand upright by his own power though he was still looking shaky.

The sea of Dryads parted all the way to the door where Miles was waiting for them, the girl by his side and looking at Geoff and the others with defiance. She didn't say anything though, and let Miles open the door for them. 

'Door' was a strong word. It was only a plank of wood put up against a hole in the wall, almost too small for the animals to walk through. On the other side was yet another room, smaller and with more blankets covering the ground arranged in little beds. Five of those were occupied by wounded Dryads, and the four that were awake looked at them walk by with big round eyes. There were several bags tightly packed lying around.

"That's your infirmary?" asked Jack in disbelief. 

"I'd like to see you do something better in three days," grumbled the girl.

"I... I didn't mean to be derogatory," apologized Jack. She huffed. 

Gavin waved kindly at the wounded Dryads, who smiled in return. They looked mostly okay. Geoff wondered how so few of them had been hurt... and then wondered if the more grievously hurt ones had died. 

Another 'door' in the back wall led to a much smaller room. It had a low round table in the middle, which was overflowing with long sheets of old, cracked paper covered in a foreign writing. There were three Dryads sitting at the other side of the table.

They were small, hunched over by sinuous bones. They were old. So old that Geoff wondered if they were even alive before one of them looked up. The usual myriad of colors in their eyes had faded, their irises were almost transparent. Their long, thin ears were drooping, and their skin was hanging off their diminished bodies like a badly wrapped blanket. 

Elders was definitely not a euphemism. 

Gavin, Miles and the girl all did a sort of reverential bow, which the others awkwardly imitated after a moment on confusion. Geoff did it as well, not wanting to be singled out. 

"Are you the Humans?" asked the Elder who'd looked up.

"Some of us are," answered Geoff. 

"Did you bring an army?"

"No, Sir," said Gavin. He was looking down at his shoes. "I couldn't bring an army. The King would not let me... I have brought all the help I could on short notice, sir. They are six... maybe seven."

"Maybe seven?"

"It's complicated," said Geoff. "Before we speak of any of this, I have to ask... why aren't there any officers here to help your refugees? Where are all your soldiers?"

They started laughing, a wheezy kind of laugh that made Geoff feel like he'd just asked the stupidest question. 

"Do you really think we have actual soldiers, boy?" asked an Elder. 

"What?" said Gavin. "Of course we have soldiers."

"Gavin. Miles. Barbara. You can go out now. Thank you."

The three Dryads didn't look pleased with being dismissed but none of them protested. Michael patted Gavin reassuringly as he walked past.

"What's that about?" asked Geoff. There was something so very wrong with this, something that made him wonder if he had made the right choice coming to see those three old geezers. 

"We have not participated in any war for a reason, boy," said one of the Elders. "We are not fighters."

"It's an acquired skill," shrugged Geoff. 

"Maybe it is. But we have no one to acquire it from. Our people do. Not. Fight. They have never fought with anything bigger than a wood-carving knife."

"You wrangled all the Vampires!" said Jack. "You have magic on your side!"

"We have magic on our side," said the Elder. He pointed a bony finger at the door, towards the vast cave of a thousand Dryads. "They don't."

"Seriously?" asked Michael. "You are the only ones?"

They nodded. "There were seventy of us at the time of the War, that is how we managed to imprison the Vampires. We are but three now and we will not be able to do it anymore."

"Is that why they've managed to get out then?" asked Joe. "Your magic has diminished?"

"No. As long as one of us is alive, the magic will not diminish. Someone else broke the spells around their prison, it was no fault of ours."

Geoff slapped his hands on the table. "Okay, right. So you guys don't have a proper army? Who are the guys you sent out after us then?"

"A militia made of the former prison guards. They are our hardiest, but they are nothing compared to a trained Human."

"You had a hundred fucking years to prepare," said Michael. "Why didn't you think about that?"

"The Vampires could not get out of their prison without external help. We didn't think about that eventuality."

"You're fucking idiots," said Michael, and Geoff could only approve. 

"Are you saying a Dryad helped them then?"

Skinny, rachitic shoulders shrugged apathetically. 

"Wow," hissed Geoff. "No wonder your people are so fucking pathetic if their elders are as much use as you guys are."

"You don't understand," said one of the Elder. 

"Oh no, I get it. It's not your entire people who are cowards, it's just you guys. And you're trying your hardest to keep them all in the dark. That's why you don't want Gavin and the others here, huh? You didn't want them to know you don't even have any idea what you're doing? I have news for you though : they're not complete idiots. They already know. All you're doing is confusing them and keeping them from doing anything usef--" Geoff stopped brutally as something shifted in his mind. 

He cursed and immediately turned on his heels.

"Ryan moved."


	16. Chapter 16

They ran, Joe's powerful paws ahead of them. The Dryads in the main cave all scattered to the walls to let them pass through, and Gavin jumped after them. 

"What's happening?"

"Ryan's moved!" said Michael. "Stay inside!" 

"Ray stays too," said Geoff. "Joe, guard the tunnel in case he gets past us." 

Joe nodded and let them through before he sat right at the entrance of the tunnel, senses on alert. 

"Tap the boulder twice!" shouted Miles as they zoomed past him. "And don't try to get out of the Fence, only a Dryad can move the white stones that lock it down! It'll hurt you if you try."

Geoff climbed the rope ladder, and as instructed tapped the boulder twice and watched it roll over by itself to free the exit.

The root that had been trapping Ryan's foot was torn in half and the Vampire was nowhere to be seen. 

"Ryan!" shouted Michael, his sword out and swinging. Beads of sweat were falling down his temples. "Come back here, you filthy bag of dicks!"

Burnie went up and disappeared above the trees. Jack's hands lit up.

"Dicks, dicks, dicks, dicks!!" shouted Geoff.

"Isn't that colorful," said a cold voice behind them. 

They swivelled around and found themselves staring into red hot eyes.

Jack shot fireballs immediately, but the Vampire moved too fast and it set a tree ablaze. Jack had to quickly throttle it out. 

"They have fire!" said another Vampire walking out from behind a tree. "Interesting."

"Look at his belt," whispered Jack in horror. 

Geoff looked. There were ears impaled on small spikes on his belt. Dryad ears, still dripping with blood. 

"Oh, just friends met on our way over here," smiled the Vampire. "Nice chaps. I think I talked their ears off."

Great, thought Geoff. Vampires with a very bad sense of humor. Joel had already had a bad one, but this one had to take the cake.

"You triggered their alarms, didn't you," he snarled. 

"Possible," shrugged a Vampire without a care. "Lead those idiots right to us."

"How did you get past the Fence?"

"You mean that stupid invisible wall? It doesn't work on us, you idiot. This pathetic magic is nothing for us."

"We're looking for someone," said the other Vampire, then he paused. He seemed to be listening to something else. 

Ryan sprung out of nowhere, holding a Dryad over his shoulder. Poor guy was clutching and empty crossbow in his hands and looked as if he had just stared Death in the face. Ryan quickly put him down behind the defensive wall the Humans were offering, and stepped in front of Michael who had been advancing quite dangerously towards the Vampires. 

"And there he is," said the Vampire with the ears. 

"I told you I wouldn't let you in," rasped Ryan. "You better give up right now. It'll be less painful for everyone."

They laughed in his face. 

"You are one. We are four."

Two more Vampires stepped out of hiding on cue. They all looked disgustingly perky, skin rosy and lips red. 

"And we have just eaten," went on the first one. "What are you going to do to us?"

Ryan snarled, and he charged. 

They were all moving far too fast to keep track, but claws tried to snatch at Geoff or Michael a couple of times before they were yanked back. Jack's hands hung uselessly in the air, too scared of accidentally catching Ryan in the fire. 

Geoff was about to summon a tree's help when one of the Vampires got away from Ryan and jumped at him and Jack. His sword was out in no time and he swung. The Vampire weaved, easily avoiding it. It smiled, teeth glistening with red. Geoff didn't even see the hand that struck him to the ground before the Vampire jumped on him and started choking him with its clawed hands. 

This Vampire had an incredible strength. Geoff had battled a lot of them but this one was something else. It was high on Dryad blood and it was crushing him. 

"I'm going to drink you," breathed the Vampire, "and then I'm going to turn you! You'll be mine! My own toy!"

Geoff fought with desperation but it led him nowhere. One more second and he was minced meat. 

A big "whoosh" sounded, and a flame rose in a corner of Geoff's vision. A horrible scream tore through the air as a flaming Vampire ran until it fell over. Geoff's opponent was distracted by this just long enough for the Elemental to get his sword back and swing it again, but the Vampire jumped out of harm's way. Geoff scrambled pathetically backwards, sword in a defensive position. There was no way he could ever get a hit.

Burnie was back. He tackled one of the Vampires away from Ryan and dragged it along the ground as much as he could before the trees forced him to fold his wings. The Vampire growled as it stood back up. It ran for Ryan who was busy ripping its friend apart. Michael shouted to get his attention and Ryan turned around just in time to avoid the claws aiming for his heart ; he dealt a fatal blow in the same breath, so fast and powerful that the enemy Vampire seemed to explode in dark blood and flesh.

The Vampire in front of Geoff, who had been circling him as if to toy with him, hissed like a scorned beast as it saw the battle was lost. It turned around. 

It was running away. Geoff swore and tried to make a few trees trap it, but it was too fast and Geoff didn't know the forest well enough. It slipped away.

Jack throttled out the fire over the pile of ex-Vampire before it could spread too far. Ryan turned and looked all around wildly. 

"Did you get them all?" he asked. 

"Yeah," panted Michael. "Fucking got 'em."

"One escaped me," spat Geoff angrily. 

He didn't think of this as the proudest moment in his life, but Ryan's reaction was exaggerated. His eyes were bright red as he roared, "You let one go?!" 

He looked as if that particular bit of news was giving him a fucking heart attack, which was quite a feat since his heart was dead. "You fucking let him go?!"

"It ran away!" 

"Where!! Quickly!"

Geoff pointed. Ryan was off in a flash. 

"What the hell," said Michael. 

"Hey, you all right?" said Burnie's voice behind them.

Geoff, Michael and Jack all turned around to see Burnie next to the Dryad, prodding him gently. The guy was looking so lost it was almost comical. He gulped and nodded jerkily. 

"Are you one of the soldiers?" asked Geoff.

"Y-yeah..."

"It's Dan," said Burnie. "He used to work with me at the prison."

"Where are the others?" asked Geoff.

"Huh... dead.. They drunk them. All."

"How many?"

"Five."

"Oh that's good," said Geoff to no one in particular. "They had six soldiers protecting everyone. That's just awesome! Six!"

"Calm the fuck down, Geoff," snapped Michael. He offered the Dryad a hand. "Can you stand? We'll bring you to the infirmary. Or whatever passes for it in this dump, anyway."

"I'll wait for Ryan," said Burnie.

"You sure?" asked Geoff. The Falcon nodded firmly. "Tell me if... when he comes back."

"Sure."

They shuffled back inside the cave.

_***_

"Hope."

Gavin's eyes jumped away from the cave's entrance to look at Ray, sitting behind him on a corner of Miles' dedicated blanket.

"Whut?"

Ray blinked, his eyes fixing the giant fire. "Hope," he repeated. "That's what's missing from you guys."

"... What?" 

"Not 'you guys' as in Dryads," said Ray, "I mean 'you guys' as in you, and Geoff, and Michael, and Jack."

"I'm still not sure you're making sense," said Gavin, tilting his head to the side with a frown. 

Ray sighed and turned to face him. 

"So, what I felt upon entering this cave, it was fucking overwhelming. Like, outstandingly so. I guess it's because most of you are empaths? But it was like everyone's emotions were competing for attention and screaming at me to acknowledge them. I can still feel it, a bit. It's fine though, I can take it. It's not painful anymore."

Ray stopped to look around him, and Gavin followed his gaze towards Joe who had not moved from his spot, guarding the cave. 

"Like, grief and anger and things like that," went on Ray with a slight shrug, "they're very painful if they're too strong, you know? And-and I guess for like a second upon entering this shelter, yeah, it was mostly fear and confusion that I could feel and it hurt. But when they saw you guys and understood who you were, the pain disappeared and it was just... It was hope." Ray nodded to himself. "Yeah. It was definitely hope. Still a bit of fear under that, but nothing much. It was overwhelmingly powerful and way too sharp and clear for me, but it was.... positive. "

Gavin looked at him some more, then said, "What?" and Ray sighed heavily. 

"Look, when you guys found me I was ready to kill myself... I thought going along with you was a lost cause, but at least it was a cause, so why not come and if I died along the way -well, who cared. But now... those people are actually counting on us, Gavin. They're hoping we can help them all. Me included! And Geoff's becoming less and less helpful, and Michael's just coming here to avoid a guilty conscience, and Jack -I don't even know why Jack wanted to come, and you... Well, you're as much of a fighter as I am. I don't know what Joe and Burnie think about all this, but they don't give the impression they believe in it more than anyone else. Let's not even talk about Ryan, what if he's currently trying to rip the others apart?" 

Ray bit his lower lip slightly before adding, "I want to help the Dryads, Gavin. I really want to! I don't want to crush their hope. But no one believes they can do it and I can't fucking do it alone. You guys are letting them down before you've even started and I don't like that."

"Geoff and the others went after Ryan!" said Gavin. "They're helping out!"

"Yeah, out of a weird sense of guilt. Not because they think they can make a difference. Michael used to think that but something happened. I don't think he even trusts Geoff anymore..."

"What?" asked Gavin. He hadn't felt anything special out of Michael. "What do you mean?"

Ray looked a bit alarmed. "Nothing!" he said. "I didn't say anything. It's Michael's business, not mine and not yours. I didn't mean to feel it. Forget about it."

Gavin let the matter drop. Sometimes he envied Ray's ability to feel everything all the time... why wouldn't Michael trust Geoff anymore? The guard's unwavering trust had been the one thing that had given Gavin courage at the beginning... that said, Ray was right. Gavin's courage and hope had dropped over the course of the journey. Now, looking at the faces of his people, he could only feel sadness at the thought of losing them. 

Whatever faith Geoff might have had in the mission had been shredded when Joel had been killed. Jack had never thought much of it to begin with. Now, if even Michael didn't believe in it anymore, then they were all dead. 

Gavin looked at Joe's silhouette. The animals might be their best hope right now. Burnie certainly looked determined, and Joe had taken a liking to them, that much was clear. But if they couldn't be united and work together, then two animals, no matter how big, would never suffice against an army of freshly fed Vampires.

Ray grabbed his arm tightly. "They're coming back," he whispered. 

Joe got to his paws and the fur on his back rose. Gavin grabbed Ray back.

"Block all emotions," he said. Ray nodded stiffly, obviously trying his hardest to keep his ideas clear as the atmosphere around them became tense, Dryads all around noticing the cat's change in posture.

"Make way!" shouted Geoff's voice, and Joe stepped aside. 

Michael and Jack came in, helping along a Dryad dressed in the green and gold uniform of soldiers. Gavin jumped to his feet. 

"That's Dan!" he shouted, running at the others. "Dan! You're alive!!"

Dan looked dazed, shocked. He didn't react much to Gavin except for a quick "Hey, man..."

"Gavin, get out of the way and open the infirmary's door for us," instructed Geoff. 

Gavin sprung into action. 

They laid Dan down on one of the rudimentary beds, and Barbara, followed by two other Dryads, came in after them. They started looking at Dan, poking, prodding, rummaging around one of their bags of supplies. Jack followed the procedure with a certain interest. Geoff was following it with impatience. 

"I need to talk to the Elders," he said. 

The nurses looked appalled. "You can't just--"

Their protests were vain. Geoff was already through the door. Michael, an angry sound leaving through his gritted teeth, ran after him and closed the 'door' behind them. 

Gavin was kneeling next to Dan, looking as what looked like a broken arm was being handled. 

"Did Ryan do that?" he asked.  
"No," said Jack firmly. "Ryan saved him."

"What?" asked Gavin and Ray in unison. 

"Our troop was attacked," said Dan with a grimace as his arm was forcibly moved. "Two Vampires out of bloody nowhere... They killed, just, everyone. They were about to kill me too but this other dude -Ryan?- He jumped on them and pushed them back and he took me to those guys..."

"They killed everyone?" repeated Gavin. 

Dan nodded sadly. He didn't look particularly terrified, too stunned by the events. Gavin knew him to have strong heart and a strong mind... himself, just picturing the Vampires' attack on other Dryads made his stomach jump in his throat. He quickly smothered those images. 

Voices rose from the Elders' room, muffled by the door. 

"You have to do it, Geoff!" was shouting Michael. 

Geoff's mumbled something that made Michael roar. 

"Because you fucking stepped in! You can't fucking act all knowing and powerful and get pissed off when your orders aren't followed, and then fucking hightail it when people start actually looking at you expecting you to lead them!"

Though it wasn't needed, Gavin walked closer to the door. His breath had caught somewhere in his throat, an uneasy feeling grappling at him. Things were exploding -nasty things. 

"They're lost!" screamed Michael. "They need someone to guide them!"

"Then do it!" shouted Geoff back.

"I'm not you!! I'll never know what to do like you do! Take the responsibilities you create for yourself, dude! Stop fucking acting as if you owe nothing to no one! You accepted to come on this fucking journey, you took the lead, you gave hope to Gavin, you led us to Joel, you forced Ryan into submission, you just spent half an hour explaining to three old dudes who can barely see why they suck at fighting. Then show them, for fuck's sake! Don't leave them to die when you can fucking prevent it! Your main plan was Joel? Too bad, that got thrashed. So go back to the fucking drawing board instead of giving up while people are looking up at you!"

In the silence that followed, Gavin could hear Michael panting. His angry shouts had echoed in the entire infirmary. When Michael talked again, his voice was cracked. 

"You're more of a coward than they are. At least they don't know better."

The door quivered and Gavin had just the time to step aside before Michael came barrelling out, not stopping a second. He kicked the infirmary's door open and disappeared into the cave. 

Gavin glanced inside the Elders' room. He caught sight of Geoff's eyes and he quickly stepped away, running back to Dan, Ray and Jack. 

Jack was looking horribly torn. He looked at the three nurses shocked into stillness, and at the few curious Dryads poking their heads through the busted infirmary door. He slowly got up and walked to Geoff, taking care to put the plank back in place, sealing himself and the earth Elemental with the Elders.

For his part, Ray was looking oddly cheerful. He saw Gavin's puzzled look and blushed. 

"Sorry. It's just, huh, anger like that wouldn't have been pleasant for me, normally. I'm just glad I managed to block it out and I feel fine... sorry."

Jack and Geoff came out of the Elders' room, Jack in front and Geoff following slowly. They walked out into the cave without a word.

"Dude," said Dan under his breath. "Where the hell did you find those guys?"


	17. Chapter 17

Finding Michael wasn't hard.

The Dryads, all still excited by the arrival of who they considered to be their saviors despite all evidence of the contrary, were keeping a respectful distance from him but were whispering and pointing and generally being very unstealthy. He was sitting in a corner, next to a pile of rubble out of which he was taking pebbles and throwing them at the wall, watching them bounce. 

Jack kept looking over his shoulder to see if Geoff was still here. He stopped in front of Michael, and took a step aside to let them be face to face. 

"I know," said Michael simply. 

Geoff didn't even move. 

"Know?" asked Jack as the silence stretched.

"About Lindsay," said Michael. "I know Geoff lied to me. I know she's dead."

Michael's eyes weren't angry as they looked at Geoff. They were a little lost. Hurt

"I'm not a complete idiot," he said, "despite what you think. I'm able to put two and two together. Gavin unwittingly helped me out, the moron that he is... but I understood, and it all made sense. It all clicked together. Lindsay saved your ass, didn't she? The General once told me she was the most powerful water Elemental we had and that she was grateful to have her among her troops. She's the one who gave Joel the healing water he poured into the lake, isn't she? She died getting you out of whatever mess you got into."

Michael stopped and sniffed. His eyes were dry but his cheeks were reddened by emotion. 

"The thing I don't get is why you chose to lie to me. See? I'm just as much of an idiot as every single Dryad around here, I made the same mistake they're doing : I trusted you, because you presented yourself as someone who could be trusted. And you... did fuck all and betrayed me. Just like you're doing to them right now."

He sighed and stood up, brushed his hands on his cloak. 

"Whatever. You've chosen to continue lying, suit yourself. It's too fucking hot in this world. I'm gonna ask if there's somewhere I can take a bath or something."

"I'm sorry."

Michael stopped and looked back. 

"What?"

"I'm sorry," repeated Geoff. "I'm a wuss."

"Yeah, that much I figured out."

"I thought I could spare you the pain if I lied to you... but mainly I didn't want you to hate me. I was the commanding officer and she was my soldier. She should never have died for me." He looked Michael right in the eyes. "She told me she loved you, while we were captured. She told me if anything happened to her, I had to tell you just how much she loved you. I didn't do it because I didn't want to hurt you, and I didn't want you to hate me."

"So you betrayed her trust too," Michael said, voice shaking with anger and grief. "Even after she sacrificed herself for you, like the fucking idiot she was."

"I thought... she was dead, she couldn't know and it didn't matter anymore," said Geoff. "That's how I justified it to myself for a long time... I stopped talking to you as much as I could after the Battle because I wanted to avoid questions. I didn't want to talk about it. I thought eventually you would move on with your life. But you didn't, and I didn't either. I've realized how fucked up that was. I didn't even want to conceal it from you anymore but I... I was too scared to bring it up. I'm sorry you're the one who had to do it in the end."

Michael waited a second, as if to see if Geoff had anything to add. He didn't. Without another word, Michael walked off and disappeared amongst the Dryads. 

Geoff stayed where he stood, tattooed arms crossed over his chest. The fire's glow made the concealed scars glisten slightly. 

"You know how you can fix this, right?" said Jack, and Geoff nodded. He looked up. 

"You gonna come with me, Jack?"

"Of course. Where else would I be?"

_***_

"No."

Jack blinked stupidly at the three Elders. That one syllable word had left the three mouths at the exact same time.

"What?" asked Geoff. 

"We will not let you take command. We are the ones in command."

"No, you're the one sitting here and doing nothing," said Geoff. "Shit, what are you so scared of?"

"Dying," said one Elder.

"Torture," said another. 

"Being held as slaves and forced to use our magic for the worst," said the third. 

"Right. And sitting here like lambs waiting for the slaughter is going to save you all? You're such a bunch of morons, dear god."

"I think everyone's scared," said Jack, trying to calm Geoff down before he started dishing out even more insults. "But you're facing those things whether you stay here or fight."

"You don't understand," sighed an Elder. "Human blood might perk up a Vampire, but it is nothing compared to our blood. Vampires can stop themselves before drinking a Human dry, they can turn you into one of theirs. But the moment they plant their teeth into a Dryad, nothing will stop them until they have drunk us dry. They will absorb everything that makes us magic, they will destroy it. There is no positive outcome."

"Are you seriously saying being turned into a Vampire is more preferable?" asked Geoff, incredulous.

"It is. More preferable than seeing a Dryad's magic disappear forever."

"So you're saying a Human life is not equal to a Dryad's, is that it?!"

"Listen," said Jack quickly as he saw anger rise in Geoff's eyes, "The one thing that will make a difference is if you try to do something about it."

"We are doing something about it."

"Your Fences aren't working!" shouted Geoff. "You had six fucking soldiers and now they're dead! You need to organize shit around here! Oh for fuck's sake."

He turned around and got his sword out. 

"You know what, Jack? It's not those three whose approval I need."

He walked out and Jack followed, worried about what he was going to do. 

"Dan," called Geoff, "can you come out into the cave?"

"I think so," said the soldier. His arm had been wrapped and a mug of medicinal tea was steaming next to him. 

"Then come along. Gavin, Ray, Barbara, bring with you all those who can get out of bed, too."

Geoff went into the cave and stopped before the big fire in the center of the room. 

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Just make sure I don't catch fire. That would fucking ruin everything."

Geoff then cleared his voice, and raised his hands, his sword above his head. 

"Dryads!" he shouted. 

People turned towards him, and 'Shhhhhh!!' were hissed all around the room. 

"The Vampires are coming," said Geoff. "You will not survive long if you do not arm yourself, prepare yourself. We can help you. We will, if you'll let us. I have fought Vampires before, I was in the Human army. I know how to kill them. But you have to listen to me, and you have to do so without questions, without reserves. Your Elders have decided to give up on you, but I promise you I will not let you in the dark anymore. I will arm you, I will teach you and your children how to survive. You simply have to ask and I will be there for you. Do you want to follow me and my friends? Do you want to defend yourself and defend your world? Are you ready to fight with me? Because I can't do it alone. I need you to help."

Jack looked at the crowd, a thousand Dryads all cramped together with barely enough place to breathe. They looked ethereal, with their glowing skin and their shining eyes ; they looked magical and powerful... Instead they were scared and lost because they didn't know where to go. 

But as they looked at Geoff, at the way the metal of his sword glinted in the fire's glow, Jack could almost see their eyes fill up with hope. It was like they were looking at the sun itself after many pitiful days stuck underground. 

Miles and his smile started jumping up and down and clapping. 

"Hell yeah!" he shouted. "I'll follow you!"

Fellow Dryads joined him, applauding and shouting. 

They were coming out of hiding. 


	18. Chapter 18

It had only taken one night, and Geoff found himself commanding an army of a thousand souls.

A lot of Dryads felt guilty to follow someone else than their Elders, but since the three old curmudgeons refused to get out of their own room, nobody saw them much and therefore were free to ignore them at will. All in all, Jack had only found five Dryads who refused to take part in the war effort. The rest of them were eager for action, relishing in the fact that they finally had a purpose. Even the kids tried to help and had to be rejected over and over. Few people were left without something to do.

Burnie came back in a day later, without a Ryan to show for himself.

"He's probably dead," he muttered, and no one was happy about the news.

"I made a mistake, didn't I," said Geoff to Jack the next night as the Dryads, too excited by the turn of events to sleep, were busy swarming Michael, Gavin, Ray and the animals and asking them all sorts of questions about war and the human world.

"We all did," said Jack. "We all should have treated him better. He might not have been a good guy but he was definitely on our side."

"He would have been a great asset."

"Probably a good friend, too," mused Jack. "He died for us."

"... Yeah. I'm a fucking idiot."

"Everybody knows that," said Michael as he walked past.

The guard still refused to talk to Geoff for more than three words at a time, but at least he talked. Geoff had charged him with recruiting all the Dryads fit enough for combat, and he was doing his task diligently, effortlessly going from a low-grade guard and soldier to a commanding officer.

Over the next few days, Geoff made a few trips to the surface accompanied by some of the burliest Dryads -which wasn't saying much- to collect wood. With it, and under Geoff, Dan and Michael's instructions, the Dryads made crossbows and arrows, the one weapon they knew and the only one they could have in the absence of metal. At least until Michael walked up to Geoff with his armor in his arms, which he dropped at the earthie's feet.

"Melt that," he said, and walked away.

Geoff gave the order. Jack put the big fire into contribution, pots for the meals were repurposed.

"I wish I'd taken my biggest armor now," said Michael moments later as he watched the thin metal dissolve into goo.

"You would have died of exhaustion," said Ray pragmatically. The heat of the underground had taken some time to get used to, but even then it was still harsh on them.

Meals, as it were, were a bland and tasteless affair. Dryads had been reduced to eating soup every day. Geoff helped out by making some new vegetables grow just outside the cave, but at the end of the day they were still eating soup. Jack's stomach was so fed up with liquids it sometimes felt like it was drowning.

Ray spent most of his days hanging around other older empaths, soaking up their knowledge. He was getting good at controlling his power and Jack could see his self-esteem grow a little more each day.

Gavin, for his part, mostly walked around looking forlorn. Jack could tell he felt useless -a feeling he could identify with, but didn't know what to tell him. Gavin had refused joining the soldiers and didn't take part in anything else, saying he wasn't good enough to do it. He'd been relegated to child-watch duty, a swarm of small, pointy-eared toddlers waddling after him as he watched the others be useful and his own ears drooped a little more with each passing hour.

Burnie and Joe were patrolling aboveground most of the time, though they were careful to stay inside the magically fenced-off area, hoping it still offered a minimum of protection. Joe took up night shifts, going out when the sun went down with a few soldiers in training and, usually, Geoff. Burnie took over for the days, with another troop and Dan to help out.

Vampires, it seemed, weren't so eager to attack again as a week, then two went by without the animals noticing anything out of the ordinary.

It all changed one morning.

_***_

Joe was back from his shift and curled around three orphans who had taken a shine to him. He'd become their bed for the last few days as they stayed up all night waiting for his return before they could sleep in the morning. He liked those little kids, with their multicolored eyes that shone so bright in the fire's glow. They'd lost their parents during the last Vampire attack on their village, and Joe was more than happy to help them forget about it.

Burnie had already been out for a good hour, taking Dan and ten other Dryads with him. Joe figured it was time he slept for a while before Michael started rousing his soldiers.

He had barely the time to close his eyes before Ray shouted something and the ceiling above their heads shook. It was a brief shock, as if something heavy had fallen down just above their heads. Then there were panicked shouts from outside, entwined voices echoing down the tunnel until it reached the cave.

Joe stood, the three kids sitting up and rubbing their eyes tiredly. Geoff and Michael were trying to keep order in the room. Joe would have gone to help but the little ones had grabbed his legs when they saw the tumult around them.

The screams outside stopped. Geoff and Michael, swords out, were right at the entrance, Jack and the new soldiers just behind them. They were debating what to do.

"Hello!!" came a voice down the tunnel. Carried by the echo on the dirt walls, it travelled from outside the underground shelter until it reached the cave. "Anyone home?"

The entire cave fell silent as a grave. Gavin started trembling a little. Ray took his hand. Dryads stepped in front of their loved ones, took their children in their arms. Joe crouched slightly over the three little heads shaking under him.

"We have some friends of yours up there," continued the voice. It was cold, hollow. "We are willing to give them back to you, entirely unharmed, and not attack the pathetic rest of you on one condition."

Puzzled glances were exchanged. What were the Vampires playing at now?

Geoff stepped forward, his hand tight around his sword.

"What is it?"

"We want one Jack Pattillo to be sent up to us."

Geoff turned around. So did everyone else. Eyes round with surprise looked at a bewildered, pale Jack.

"M-me?" he breathed.

"Hellooooo?" came the voice. "We'll give you ten seconds, all right? Send us Jack and we'll go away. Don't send us Jack and we'll thrash the place. One..."

"What are they playing at?" growled Michael as Geoff's eyes narrowed.

"Two..."

"Why do they want you?" whispered Gavin.

"Three..."

"I don't fucking know! I'd never seen a Vampire in my life before Joel!"

"Four..."

"What the fuck!"

"Five..."

"They're really going to attack," said Ray.

"Six..."

Geoff's eyes went around the cave, looking at the terrified Dryads. Some of them had their crossbows raised, even the ones who had little to no experience with it. Ready to fight without knowing how.

"Seven..."

"Jack?" asked Geoff.

"Eight..."

Jack looked a second away from puking his guts out. He looked at Geoff, at Michael, at Ray and Gavin, at Joe and his protégés.

"Nine..."

Jack looked back at Geoff, and he nodded.

"All right!" shouted Geoff. "He's coming up!"

The ominous countdown stopped.

"We're waiting!"

Geoff turned to Ray and Gavin. "You stay here. Michael, you keep training these people. I want them capable of defending themselves, do you understand? You don't stop until you have an army. Joe?"

"Yes," said Joe, not moving from where he stood. Geoff's eyes stopped on the three kids for half a second.

"You guard the entrance. In case another raid comes by while we're away, I want you to stop them with all you've got."

Joe nodded. He knew what was being asked of him. He wouldn't disappoint. If a single Vampire was getting inside this cave, it was only after having been mauled half to death.

Geoff then turned to his friend. "Jack?"

Jack made an odd noise in the back of his throat. Geoff took him by the shoulder, his other hand clasped around his sword.

"I'm with you."

"I... I know."

"We'll wait for you!" said Miles.

Without a word, Geoff lead Jack into the tunnel and they disappeared from view.

Silence hung for a few minutes more, no one moving, barely daring to breathe at all. They couldn't hear anything anymore. No raised voices, no fight making the earth shake. Nothing.

Geoff and Jack had simply vanished from their life in the span of ten seconds.

Michael turned towards the frozen mass of Dryads. "All right," he said loud and clear. "I'm going to s--"

"Michael?" came another voice from outside. A very distinctive voice, deep and gravely.

"Ryan!" recognized Joe, his round eyes contracting.

"Ryan?" called Michael.

"Yes, it's me. Listen to me. I need you to come outside."

"Where are the others?" asked Ray. "How are the Dryads?"

"The Vampires took Geoff and Jack. I'm going to go after them but the Dryads who were out with Burnie are here and they're wounded. You need to come get them."

Ryan's voice had something a little different. It was strained, as if something else than the words he was speaking was desperately trying to get past his lips. Joe's eyes narrowed as he listened carefully.

"He's not right," whispered Ray so low Joe's ears had to strain to understand. "I can feel it."

"Are you all right Ryan?" asked Michael cautiously. "We thought you were dead. Where were you?"

"I was spying on the Vampires, Michael. I'm fine. Are you coming up or are they going to die here?"

"Why Michael?" asked Ray.

Ryan groaned audibly. "Do whatever you want, but I wouldn't recommend untrained Dryads to get out when Vampires are around--"

There was a dull sound and Ryan stopped talking for a second.

"You get what I mean," he said, voice even more strained.

"Yeah," said Michael doubtfully. "Yeah. I'm coming..." He looked behind him. "Everyone stay here and stay calm. Joe?"

"You can count on me," nodded Joe.

Michael nodded back, and slithered into the tunnel, sword out. Gavin launched himself after him before anyone could grab him to stop him.

Joe considered running after him, but it would mean leaving the Dryads behind. He walked up to the cave's entrance and sat down, eyes narrowed, ears pricked up. Guard dog he would be.

_***_

Michael heard the pitter patter of light feet following him. He looked over his shoulder.

"Gavin? The fuck are you doing here?"

"I'll help you," he said. "Dan's out there. I want to help."

"No. Go back inside. If I need help I'll call anyone but you. Go. Back. In." Michael punctuated his sentence by waving his sword under Gavin's nose.

"I'm not a soldier," said Gavin sullenly. "I don't have to listen to you. I want to see Dan and Burnie and Ryan!"

Michael gritted his teeth.

"Whatever. We're losing time. I'm not responsible if your face gets eaten."

"Fine!"

They ran up the tunnel and jumped up the ladder. The boulder above their heads had already been pushed out of the way.

Michael stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he was out, blocking the exit and the view of the outside to Gavin. The Dryad tapped on his foot.

"Hey! Move!"

"Shut up."

His voice was sharp and dry. Gavin felt himself tense up.

"What's going on? Where's Ryan?"

"Oh he's here," said Michael slowly.

"Then what?"

"Why did you take him?" said Ryan's voice. He sounded angry. "I told you to come alone."

"Let him come through," said another voice -the same cold, hollow voice of earlier.

Michael seemed to hesitate, but he did step aside, and Gavin climbed out to finally see what was happening outside.

Ryan was indeed here. His eyes were bright red, his whole posture so tense he looked like he was going to snap if he moved, and he was holding Geoff. One of his hands was keeping the Elemental's arms folded against his chest and the wrists close together, thus making him unable to move and bring any plant to life. The other hand was against Geoff's neck. The claws were denting the skin ever so slightly.

Jack was being held in the same position by another Vampire who had the green and golden cloak of the Dryad guards wrapped around his shoulders. Michael heard Gavin gasp, and he could understand why. There was only one person they knew who wore that outfit, and if a Vampire with cheeks so pink and lips so red was wearing it, it could only mean that Dan had been killed.

"Hello," said one of the Vampire in that cold voice. His belt had small spikes all around it, and he had Dryad ears impaled on them like war trophies. "Aren't we lucky, another Dryad just for us!" He licked his lips.

Michael stepped in front of Gavin, sword raised.

"Try and you're dead."

"Do you want to bet?"

"Stop letting your gluttony slow us all down," groaned Ryan. "We have Jack and the other two, now let's go back! We don't need the Dryad."

"Isn't he the one who came to the Humans for help?" asked the Vampire with the belt, still smiling. "I'm sure Edgar would love to have a word with him. We'll take them both. Do not," he added at the Vampires who stepped forward, "drink the Dryad. Human, drop the sword or the Elemental gets cut."

To illustrate, Ryan's claws pressed harder on Geoff's neck. Geoff strained uselessly in his grip.

Michael snarled, but he did throw his sword to the floor. He threw it hard and far enough that it planted itself just in front of the Vampire's foot.

Michael's wrists were grabbed in an iron grip that made his bones crack. He glanced at Gavin, handled in the same way. The Dryad's eyes were wet with unshed tears.

They followed listlessly when they were pulled harshly forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I like naming baddies Edgar. I have no shame and no regret.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been slow to update, sorry! Exams are around the corner, I can't write as often as I'd wish.  
> The next update might take a little time as well, I apologise in advance. To make up for it I give you 2 new chapters and I'll try not to leave you on a big cliffhanger?

After a while the Vampires had picked them up and started running.

The scenery flew past them far too fast to see anything, but is was clear the greenery was dwindling as they advanced. Soon there was more grey around them than green. When they stopped it was in a clearing, the ground only dead grass and leaves, and not a tree standing up. In the middle of it stood the Vampires' prison. 

It was nothing more than a big cube made with what looked like bricks made of wood. The entrance was a simple slit, there were no windows, and from inside was coming a horrible sounds, like a hundred damned souls screaming in unison. It chilled them to their core, Gavin desperately trying to wriggle out of his captor's grip without success as they were dragged inside.

There were no cells. The wide space was filled with a stone staircase leading to another floor, and what must have been fifty Vampires sitting around looking hapless. Heavy, thick chains were lying all around them, torn off the walls and snapped in half. These Vampires had been fed recently judging by the tint of their skin, but not enough to be strong -certainly not as strong as Ryan or his friends currently dragging their captives towards the staircase. Their hollow eyes lit up like candles in the darkness when they saw Gavin. 

And in the middle of the room was a large pit dug into the earth out of which the horrible screams were rising. Their captors carried them past it and Geoff managed to look inside. It was deep, and at the bottom of it were fifty other Vampires. 

If the ones at the surface didn't look healthy, these looked absolutely starving. They looked hollowed of any emotion except for a debilitating hunger that was driving them mad. They were all stepping on each other, weakly trying to jump out of the hole, snapping their teeth at the air or into each other's flesh, forming wounds that would not bleed. And they screamed and screamed and screamed, deafening everyone around them. 

Gavin's captor hissed at one of the upside Vampire who had tried to sneak closer to the Dryad. The weaker Vampire quickly retreated, head hung low. They were pushed up the stairs, and somewhere along that journey Michael found his voice back and started spewing insults and death threats. He managed to bite his captor's arm, making it bleed a blood that was more black than red.

"Feisty," said a new voice. 

It was even darker up here than below, the shrieks of the starving Vampires in the pit echoing on the walls like the hollow screams of ghosts. A form in the shadows moved towards them, slowly but powerfully. Their captors all stilled, holding their prisoners in front of them as if to present them to inspection.

The Vampire that appeared was wearing a red robe made of silk, something obviously Dryad-made. He had one of the heavy chains around his neck, wrapped around his shoulders like a scarf. Tall and lean, he looked healthier than any other, his skin pink instead of grey, his eyes bright and sparkling like rubies. He had fed, and fed a lot. He emanated power.

Michael spat at him. 

"Stop that!" snapped the Vampire. "What an impolite person you are."

"Yeah? Well you're a murdering piece of shit!"

The Vampire smiled. "You've got a point there. Abel?"

"Yes, sir," said the Vampire holding Michael. 

The Vampire in red slowly unwrapped the metal chain around his neck and handed it to Abel. 

"Give him this," he said.

Despite his struggles, Michael was easily overpowered and the chain was twisted around his neck in no time. It didn't stop him from shouting insults and the Vampire in red frowned, now irritated.

"Abel, get him to shut up." 

Abel yanked hard on the chain. It crushed Michael's windpipe and he made a horrible strangled noise that made Gavin whimper. 

"Get Jack to the leader," ordered the red Vampire. 

Jack was silent and pale as his captor dragged him back down the stairs. Geoff tried to get out of Ryan's grip, to get to Jack and rip him away from those clawed hands, but Ryan tightened his hold and shook him harshly. 

"Stay still you'll get a chain too," Ryan growled.

"Exactly, James," said the red Vampire appreciatively. "Or better yet, if the Elemental or the Dryad try to escape, I will choke the red-head to death, slowly and painfully. You wouldn't want that, would you? So shut up."

Geoff stilled, but his teeth were gnashing so hard he could feel them crack. 

"Good," said the red Vampire with a small smile. "Ah, Geoff... I like to think I'm the reason you were captured during the Battle. I nearly had you myself, if only that fucking spineless bastard hadn't jumped to your rescue. What even was his name... Joel? He's probably dead by now."

If Geoff listened to himself, he would have already torn that fucker's tongue out and made him eat it. 

"I don't even remember you," he spat. "You aren't so special, dude."

The Vampire sneered. "You're one to talk, earthie. You're powerless. One order from me and James will tear you in half and eat you whole." He looked at Ryan, and Geoff couldn't see what this traitor was doing but it made the red Vampire smile.

"Ah, James. You should introduce us, don't you think? Go on, tell them who I am."

Geoff felt Ryan twitch a little behind him. The Vampire's chest rumbled as he talked. 

"This is Edgar," he said in a clipped tone, "the Vampire who turned me."

"Only that? Dear, I did so much more for you than just turn you. I nurtured you! You'll call me Father from now on, just like in the good old days."

"Yes, Father," said Ryan immediately.

"Good. Now tell me who are your friends."

"Michael and Geoff were the Humans who fought in the Battle of the Field. And then Gavin..." Ryan stopped. 

"Yes?" prompted Edgar, this stupid smile on his lips. "Tell me about Gavin."

"Gavin is the one who came to the Humans for help."

Edgar's smile widened and his eyes darted to Gavin. He looked like a reptile, an alligator ready to snap at his victim.

"So you're the one I have to thank for reuniting me with my son?" He chuckled. "Oh, you poor little scrawny thing. You ran right into the wolf's wide open mouth. You put your faith in a Vampire without thinking about the consequences. Naive, naive..."

He extended a finger, his long claw scratched at Gavin's chin. Gavin let out a whimper and Michael started yelling something before his chains were yanked harshly, cutting him off. 

Edgar laughed. He slowly walked back towards Geoff, his eyes tracing his tattoos. An ugly smirk stretched his lips.

He put a hand on Ryan's arm. "I hadn't seen my son in so long. He grew up so strong and powerful, didn't he?"

Geoff biting on his tongue to keep himself from shouting insults. White hot hatred was rolling in stomach, and half of it was for Ryan. Filthy bag of traitorous shit, playing with them like a cat with a half-dead mouse.

"Didn't I do a fantastic job in making him?" went on Edgar. "He's so clever, bringing to me all the people I most wanted to kill. Geoff, you may not remember me but I remember you, and I know what crimes I should make you pay for. Same goes for your dog."

Abel yanked on Michael's chains. The horrible strangled noises coming out of the guard's throat made Geoff's eyes water. Michael started coughing wet and deep coughs, his chest heaving. His breathing was starting to sound strained.

"And you, poor little lamb," said Edgar as he looked at Gavin, not giving a crap about Michael's distress. "I guess I should give you to James as a reward... my poor son needs to eat, badly." He paused to think. "No, I think I will keep you for the Hungry ones in the Pit," he said finally. "James you can have the other two. Which one do you want to start with?"

"I think they should be given to someone who needs it more than I do, Father," said Ryan without missing a beat. 

Something flashed in Edgar's eyes. "No," he said categorically. "You will drink, James. Choose which one to get first. Now, James!"

Suddenly, Edgar's voice wasn't amused anymore. It was sharp and cutting, and Ryan growled. Geoff felt claws dig into his arms, and he was thrown down the stairs.

_***_

Geoff hit step after step, body bouncing on hard stone. He could only try his best not to hit his head.

A hand grabbed him mid-air and pulled him until he was wedged against a chest by powerful arms. Geoff's guts jolted inside him with the shock. 

"Don't move," threatened Ryan's voice in his ear. Too disorientated to do anything else, Geoff obeyed. 

The arms tightened their hold on him, pushing his face into Ryan's chest and nearly smothering him. Geoff couldn't move out of the grip. He couldn't see anything, didn't know where Ryan was going, but he could feel that they were running fast.

He was thrown down without a warning. He rolled to his stomach and pushed himself back up, swaying on unsteady feet, head reeling. He raised both hands in defence or attack, he wasn't sure. His vision was blurred, the trees and plants were all melting together in a green patch. Only Ryan was starkly visible, the one black point in the middle. 

"So that's it?" spat Geoff. "You showed your true colors? Fucking James, even your name was fake. You're a piece of shit. I know you're gonna kill me but you can be fucking sure I'm going to hurt you before you're done!"

"There's an opened door on the east side."

Geoff's mouth hung open as he blinked. 

"That's how we got in and out of the Fence," said Ryan, talking very fast. "They can't break through it, they lied. One of the white stones has been moved on the east side of the protective circle, that's the door they're using. You have to go back and fix it. They have someone on their side doing the magic and moving the stones, they're the one who requested Jack specifically. I don't know anything else. I'm sorry."

Ryan turned around and in a flash, he was gone. 

Geoff blinked again. His vision had cleared. He couldn't see the prison but could guess where it was as the trees were becoming sparser in that direction. His friends were still there. Being tortured. 

He swore, and ran in the opposite direction.

_***_

Jack met Geoff's eyes for one last time as he was dragged back down the stairs. His friend looked enraged, desperate. Jack only felt fear and sorrow, and though a voice in the back of his head was telling him to say something, to ask Geoff not to do anything reckless, he couldn't find it in himself to talk. 

He stayed silent as he was led back out of the prison and kept walking into the forest. The trees were dead, the world was grey and brown. Jack felt like he was the one and only living thing a mile around. 

They stopped abruptly and Jack found himself looking at a Dryad woman, standing tall and thin in front of a tree that looked charred as if a bolt of lightning had struck it. She was wearing a dress torn and dirtied by the years, a satchel stained with red was slung on her shoulder. 

She turned murky green eyes to him, thin and unhealthy red hair streaked with white falling on her shoulders. She wasn't young but there was something about her that made Jack think she was far older than she looked. Actually, there was something just plain wrong with her, something that didn't fit.

She smiled. "Jack," she said. Her voice was hoarse and gritty, unpleasing to the ear. It made Jack shudder in the Vampire's grip. "I am so happy to see you. Thank you, you can leave," she added to the Vampire.

He didn't move. "Don't I get a treat, madam?" he asked. 

"Later. Go away."

With an awkward bow, the Vampire ran off. Jack was free. He could run away. He could just run from this woman who inspired nothing but fear in him. 

"Will you join me, Jack?" she asked, extending a hand.

Jack looked at it, at her skin far too smooth and her fingers far too gnarly. He suddenly realized what was wrong with her : she didn't have that faint golden glow like other Dryads. Her skin, though tanned, was too pale ; her nails were long and sharp, almost like claws. And when Jack looked back up, her sunken eyes were still a dirty green, unchanged. Something in her was broken. 

When Jack didn't move by himself, she took his hand forcefully. Her skin was cold as ice. She smiled at him but it was too sharp of a smile, too tight. 

She stepped to the side, revealing a stone as white as the one Dryads used for magic. She touched it and the world around Jack seemed to shrink into nothing before bursting back into place in the blink of an eye. 

The scenery had changed, trees green again and the ground littered with broken planks. Jack looked up to see ruins of wooden houses built into the trees. He was in the middle of a destroyed Dryad village.

The Dryad woman released his hand and started walking. Jack followed, not really sure why. 

The whole village was empty. The houses in the trees looked frightening, dark and hollow. The wind blew softly and made a whistling sound as it went, bringing a sharp smell to Jack that made him retch. 

The whole place felt like death itself. Jack kept on walking, following the Dryad like a lost puppy, hoping they would get out of this place eventually.

_***_

Ryan ran up the stairs and barrelled back in the room. Blood was dripping from his mouth and leaving a track of red droplets as he walked towards Edgar, who was holding Michael's chain as Abel was now restraining Gavin. 

"Done," Ryan said simply. 

When Edgar looked at him, his red eyes were alight with mistrust. He was twitching. He pulled a bit on Michael's chain, sending the boy flat on the ground where he stayed, too weak to struggle anymore. 

"Why did you throw him out?" snapped Edgar. "I told you to eat him, not to throw him out. And I sent Armand after you, where is he? Answer me!"

Ryan's mind somersaulted at the order. "I did what you told me to do," he said. "Armand is downstairs." 

Technically true ; Armand's corpse was in the forest. It took great efforts for Ryan to stop himself from saying the entire truth and obey Edgar's order fully. The blood bathing his mouth was trying to trickle down his throat. He blocked it with his tongue and prayed Edgar would look away so he could spit it out. 

He was sort of glad Armand had eaten recently as it made the blood look fresh and healthy, as if Ryan had torn through a human, but once blood had gone through a Vampire's veins it tasted horrible. It was foul and burning like poison.

"Look at me, James. Do not move until I tell you so."

Ryan felt his body lock up. He could feel the muscles in his neck crack under the strain as he tried to turn his head without success. The blood went down his throat, burning his insides. 

Edgar's face slowly split in a horrible, gloating snarl. 

"You," he said to Abel, "take the Dryad to the pit for the Hungry ones."

"What? No... NO!!" Gavin's cries tore through Ryan like a spear. "No! Don't--RYAN!!"

Ryan twitched. His eyes were stuck on his Maker. He couldn't move. He couldn't answer. He couldn't turn to look. He could only hear.

"RYAN! Ryan! Help me! RYAN!!-- No, leave me alone, please leave me alone, please, please, please, please, no, no, please don't, please..."

"Listen to him, James," said Edgar with joy in his voice. "Listen to him begging you. But you won't help, you will never help him ever again. You're with me now."

Gavin's tearful, terrified cries got quieter as he was dragged away, but they did not stop. Ryan could still hear him. 

Another wave of blood filled Ryan's mouth. He'd bitten through his tongue. 

"Let's try that again, shall we, James?" said Edgar. 

He pulled on the chain, lifting Michael off the floor just by his neck. The Human was choking horribly, face reddening by the second until he managed to get his legs under him and kneel, keeping the pressure off his throat. Wheezing sounds were whistling past his lips.

"Drink him in front of me," ordered Edgar. 

Ryan wanted to scream. He wanted to punch that bastard through the face. Michael was looking at him through clouded eyes ; his throat was too damaged for him to scream but Ryan could hear the furious tries.

"Come on, dear," repeated Edgar. "Get your strength back. I will need you. Drink the Human."

Ryan felt himself kneel next to Michael. His arms reached out, grabbed the human's head and tilted it to the side. The chains slid down a bit to reveal the abused throat, red and cut in places. Bleeding bright red against the white skin.

"Think about it," said Edgar's voice in Ryan's ear. "You remember the taste of Human blood, don't you? So warm, so silky. Remember how it felt, the strength spreading through you, rejuvenating..."

Ryan put his teeth to Michael's throat. He closed his eyes tight. A tear slipped from under his eyelid.

"Drink him, James," ordered Edgar. 


	20. Chapter 20

They kept walking for a long time, a very long time in complete silence through the remains of the city. Jack saw a large shard of glass on the ground, then another, and more and more until the whole floor was covered with them. Seeing as they curved, he could guess they used to be part of a giant sphere. 

"The Beacon," said the Dryad. She stopped and picked up a shard between two careful fingers. "It kept us warm. Winter has never existed in our land for as long as this ball of pure magic trapped in glass warmed up the forest. The heat you can feel right now is nothing compared to what it used to be. The air is slowly becoming colder now the Beacon is broken... When all the heat will be gone, it will be colder here than in the Human world at the worst of Winter."

"Why did you destroy it then?" asked Jack. "You Dryads need the warmth to survive."

"Cold is difficult to navigate and a threat to a Dryad, but it's not impossible to manage. I certainly can survive it," she said with her sharp smile. "I did it because I needed them to scatter. I needed them to be scared. I want them to be scared."

Jack gulped. Her green eyes had turned even darker and her smile had frozen on her face at a slightly demented angle.

"Why?" he asked. "You're a Dryad yourself. Why do you betray your own people?"

She let the shard of glass fall and looked at him. "Why not?" she said. 

She slipped a hand inside her bag and got a small vial out of it. It was full of a red and viscous liquid. It must have been blood but again, something about it was off. The color wasn't right. It wasn't a rich, dark red like a Dryad's blood ; it was a green-ish red that looked, for lack of a better word, spoiled. It looked foul. And when the Dryad opened it horrible smell reached Jack and almost made him gag.

"What is that?" he asked.

The Dryad didn't answer. Her eyes fixed on Jack she held the vial to her lips, and without breaking eye contact she gulped it down. 

Jack took a step back.

"What are you doing?"

She smiled, her teeth and lips stained with red. 

"Everything comes from blood, Jack." She wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "We used to have families of magicians because magic is in the blood. They forgot about it as time passed. The moment we discovered the bridge to the Human world, they all went off and started shagging Humans. Over the years the magical blood thinned and slowly disappeared and nobody understood why. Idiots..." 

She sighed. "But every Dryad still holds a small part of magic. That's why their blood is so powerful to a Vampire... and to everyone else. If you know how to extract its powers, you're sure to get a kick out of Dryad blood."

"... And you know how?"

She chuckled. "Look at me and answer that for yourself," she said happily. "I'm one of the last to know how to do it. The Elders, those bumbling half-wits, thought it better not to remind anyone of the power of blood. They were scared that times were changing and that, should the knowledge spread, greedy people would start going after the Dryads."

"Is that what you just drank?" asked Jack. His voice was small as he tried his best not to vomit. "A Dryad's blood? Your own people?" 

She held up the empty vial. "This was Vampire blood."

"What?" gasped Jack. He could feel his stomach turning on itself at the thought.

"Well, I guess it used to be Dryad," she said, shrugging. "Once it's gone through a Vampire's body though, it becomes a poisonous goo... but it is still blood. If you can endure the poison, you can get power out of it."

"... The magic?"

"Don't you listen to me?" She rolled her eyes. "Vampires consume the magic. The blood becomes entirely theirs, Jack. This vial contained a Vampire's power. Strength, speed, immortality... hunger." Her eyes flashed with something that made Jack take another step back and nearly stumble over his own feet.

"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked. "Why did you ask for me? Who the fuck are you!"

"Have you seen your father?" she asked out of the blue. 

"What has he got to do with you? He's been dead for years!"

She chuckled. "You're talking about that lousy Water Elemental? The idiot who had the galls to threaten me and take you as his own? I'm quite glad to hear he kicked it. I hope it was a painful death..."

"What are you talking about?" asked Jack through gritted teeth. He could make a fireball, he thought. Burn her to ashes. Make her disappear, rid the world of her foul presence just with a click of his fingers...

The Dryad raised her arms above her head, palms up to the sky. When she snapped her fists closed, the rays of sunshine streaming through the trees quickly disappeared. It started to rain, cold and sticky water dribbling on Jack and soaking his clothes, seeping through his skin to freeze him to the bone. The Dryad looked back at him through the thick droplets. 

"That's better," she said. "Now, Jack, tell me : do you know how Vampires are made?"

_***_

A tear, rolling down Ryan's cheek. 

Salty water, a Human tear. 

Ryan screamed against Michael's throat and closed his lips over his fangs. 

Disobeying fucking hurt. His mind felt like it was splitting apart, unravelling at the seams. His limbs were heavy as he jumped back to his feet and grabbed Michael out of Edgar's hold, throwing him over his shoulder. 

"James!" snapped Edgar as if he were a disobeying puppy. "Stop this!"

Ryan felt the order sink in his bones. His whole body screamed in protest as he turned around and punched Edgar in the face, throwing him to the ground. With the claws of his foot, Ryan ripped his Maker's throat out. 

His mind was melting. The pain that tore through him made him drop to his knees and release Michael who rolled on the floor. Ryan could barely see through tears. He dodged Abel lunging for him and somehow stood back up, managed to grab Michael. He had to protect him. He had to get him out of here.

His one free arm ripped into Abel, blood splashing him, and he jumped down the stairs. He caught a Vampire's throat and disembowel another, and threw ten of them back with only the force of pure desperation before he could look down the Pit.

Gavin, lithe as a squirrel, had by some miracle managed to grab the edge of the hole and was precariously holding on, feet dangling in the void under him. His temple was marred by a purple bruise and he was obviously stunned, his limbs weak and only animated by the terror coursing through him. Teeth and claws were clapping under him, roars and snarls, as the Hungry ones all tried to jump on one another to reach him first. 

The Vampires around Ryan had sensed his superior strength and were hesitating to attack him. He took advantage of it. Still holding onto Michael he threw himself at the ground, grabbed Gavin by his shirt and lifted him out. The kid was a mess, the combination of fear and pain rendering him limp. Ryan didn't have time to stop make sure he was even still conscious. He took a Human in each arm and he was out of the Prison in no time. 

Chaos exploded behind him as the Vampires finally caught up with what was happening. Ryan thanked everything on earth that none of them were fed enough to be able to run quicker, and he allowed himself to pause for a second so he could manhandle Gavin to his feet. 

"Get on my back," he ordered. He could hear the Vampires coming at them. "Get on my back, Gavin!" 

Gavin startled and all but jumped on Ryan's back, his weedy arms shakily lacing around the Vampire's neck.

Ryan adjusted his grip on Michael and fled.

He ran and ran without stopping, his ears ringing and his head splitting. He ran until he saw it ; the red mark on the bark of a tree. He skidded around, plopped his charges down and looked for the little white stone. Geoff had put it back in place, the door wasn't opened anymore. 

The Vampires were closing in. Ryan swore and gritted his teeth. He grabbed the stone. 

The disorientation and pain of before were amplified as soon as he touched it. His vision wavered as the pain ripped up his arm as if his muscles were being split apart, as if knives were slicing him from the inside. He couldn't do it, he couldn't move it...

A slim, tanned hand took the stone from him and Gavin's annoying voice ran through his muddled thoughts. Scrawny arms pulled at him.

"Come on Ryan, walk in! Come on! Get up!"

Crawling was the best Ryan could offer. He dragged himself inside the protective fence.

He was starting to feel himself fail. His head was splitting in two, his skin was on fire, sledgehammers hitting him from every side. Gavin screamed something he couldn't understand. Where was Michael? Had Michael made it inside the Fence?

It started to rain heavily. Ryan slipped into darkness.

_***_

Ray was bouncing on Joe's back. 

He could feel a hundred things at the same time. The Dryads' fear was clinging to him and refused to go away. It was too powerful to fade now Geoff, wounded and rugged, had barged in their cave, nearly passed out on the spot and barked an alarming amount of horrible news at them. 

Ray had paled when Geoff had sent armed volunteers out to put the Fence back in place. What if Michael or Jack had managed to escape without Gavin? They wouldn't be able to move the stone and get back in!

Everyone had been too busy, too panicked. The chaos had been too great for Ray to speak with Geoff about this, and when he'd seen the volunteers run back inside with their task accomplished Ray couldn't keep still anymore. He'd recruited Joe, and the both of them had jumped out of the cave to look around on the off-chance that one of their friends had found a way back.

It wasn't long before Ray could feel another kind of fear around him, more acute more persistent than the Dryads', but so confused and so utterly panicked that it felt scattered and Ray could not get a fix on it. The only thing he could tell was that he was nearing the Fence. What if he found one of his friends just outside of it?

He closed his eyes. Now he had learned how to block out empathy, it was time to let it come back in full force. He opened the gates.

It hit him hard, as if he had slammed into a solid wall made of pure terror. It was overpowering, horrible and overwhelming. Ray quickly analyzed it before pushing it down and away, forcing it to leave him.

His eyes snapped open. 

"I know where they are," he panted. 

Joe leaped where he pointed. 

They found them, Gavin and Michael and Ryan lying down on the grass just at the edge of the Fence. One foot further and they were outside -and outside, it was raining. The drops were splashing against the invisible dome that protected the area, leaving their part of the forest dry and hot as always.

Ryan seemed to have passed out, and the pure terror that Ray had felt was coming from Gavin who was shouting unintelligible things as he pulled on Michael's chains without result, and probably strangling him further. 

Ray jumped off Joe and ran to them. 

"Oh God, I found you," he spluttered, pure relief washing over him. "I found you, I fucking found you!"

He took Gavin in his arms without thinking about it. 

"Ray, Ryan's dead!" yelled Gavin. "Vampires are coming and Ryan's dead and Michael's hurt..."

Joe nudged Ryan with his muzzle. "He's not dead," he said. "Not sure what he is, but dead isn't it."

Ray looked around. There were no Vampires in sight, though the rain could be hiding them.

"Okay," said Ray quickly. "Gavin, you need to calm down okay? I can't think straight. Just calm down."

Gavin nodded, but Ray felt no change. He turned to Michael who looked like he was staying conscious by pure force of will, the chain around his throat heavy and working the abused skin raw. Ray grabbed it and somehow managed to push away Gavin's distress enough to retain most of his mind and untangle it. 

Michael's throat was marred by horrible colors and his breathing was pained. Joe encouraged him into sitting up and held him upright.

Ray prodded Ryan. "Hey? You hear me? Please don't be dying. That would really fucking suck."

"We have to get them back to the cave, Ray," said Joe urgently. 

It took a lot of efforts but Ray managed to lift Ryan onto Joe's back, and got Michael on there as well. He took Gavin by the hand and followed on foot as the cat leaped through the forest.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning : very brief and very non-graphic mention of rape... it's barely a line, but I thought I'd warn anyway.

No one knew what to do with Ryan's unconscious form. He wasn't waking up no matter how many time Ray tried, even Geoff prodded him once or twice but nothing worked. They just left him in the cave, Gavin and Michael taking priority over him. At least they knew how the body of those two worked, there was a chance of healing them.

"Nobody touches him," warned Geoff as Joe rolled Ryan gently into a corner. 

The Dryad, tense since Joe and Ray had barged back in with the Vampire, didn't say anything. 

"I mean it," insisted Geoff. "If one of you hurts him, they'll have to answer to me."

And with this last threat he ran after the rest of his team into the infirmary.

Geoff had been following the nurses for a while when he heard a brief commotion from the cave telling him that the Vampire had come back to his senses. After a last look at the nurse bent over Michael's battered throat, he stepped out. 

Ryan was as easy to spot as a bonfire in the night. He was sitting against the wall, looking at his hands dirty with dried blood. The Dryads had left a large empty space between him and them. Every single pair of multicolored eyes stuck on the Vampire, they all stood silent as a stone. So many people managing to stay so still was quite impressive. 

Geoff tore through the silent crowd.

"Hey," he said simply. 

Ryan looked up at him, eyes too big and too pitiful. He looked like a lost little child, Geoff could almost imagine the wobbling lips and the snot coming out of the nose. What an odd expression to see on the face of a fucking Vampire.

"You all right?" asked Geoff. The guy looked shaky and hazy, as if he had troubles keeping himself together in the most physical sense. Geoff was pretty sure if he shook Ryan right now the Vampire would just break in two.

"I killed him," said Ryan flatly. 

"Who?"

"My Maker."

Geoff nodded. "So I gathered from Gavin's ramblings."

Ryan looked down at his hands, then back at Geoff. 

"Yeah. I did it." He sounded like he didn't know whether to feel proud of this or ashamed. 

Geoff put his hands on his hips and turned to look at all the eyes fixed on them. The Dryads immediately looked away and pretended to be busy with something else. 

"I don't understand everything," said Geoff, "so you'll have to explain. And no bullshit this time. I want the whole story, Ryan or James or whatever, because from our end it looks like... No, I don't even know what it looks like. It looks like dicks."

Ryan shrugged. "Pretty good assessment of the situation."

"Burnie's disappeared and they've got Jack. Do you know why?"

"I'm sorry," Ryan shook his head sadly. "I think Burnie was killed trying to defend his soldiers... As for Jack, I tried to get some information but nobody told me anything useful. I don't think anyone even knew. They just have this leader that they listen to blindly, I never saw her but she's the one who asked for him specifically. All I know is that Jack knows too much."

"What? Knows too much about what?" asked Geoff, confused.

"Everything," said Ryan with an apathetic shrug. "Joel told me about it the first night I met you guys. He'd noticed Jack knew a lot about Vampires and Dryads and things Humans usually don't know."

"That's because his father knew about those things and taught him."

"Then how did his father learn about those?"

"I don't fucking know," snapped Geoff. "I'm not in the mood for mysteries right now. If you have the slightest idea where he is you better tell me right now."

Ryan shook his head. "I'm so sorry..."

He put his head in his hands, and Geoff winced. If the Vampire started fucking sobbing before him, he was going to retire.

But Ryan wasn't crying and he soon resurfaced to look Geoff right in the eyes. 

"Are Gavin and Michael... how are they?" 

"Gavin's sleeping. They say he's all right physically but who knows what's happening in his head... As for Michael, he's mostly conscious and he seems fine mentally, but his throat is a mess. His voice is gone, for now."

Ryan was rubbing his hands, getting the blood coating them to peel off. "He must hate me," he said. 

"Who, Michael? Dude, he understands better than I do. He fucking scrawled "don't kill Ryan" in the earth with his fingers while the nurses were trying to get him to lie down."

"But... it's my fault..." 

"Well, yeah. But you also saved the day like a hero, so... you get my confusion."

"The day wouldn't have had to be saved if I hadn't been here."

"Probably not. Then again, if you hadn't been here maybe our natural ability to be losers would have caught up with us and we'd be captured anyway. And then you wouldn't have been there to save our sweet little asses."

Ryan smiled bitterly, his eyes on the floor. 

"I'm just wondering why you didn't talk to me though," said Geoff. "Maybe we could have figured something out."

"Yeah, right." Ryan laughed humorlessly. "You've been just about ready to gut me since the day we met, I knew if I told you everything you would have killed me."

"Hm. Maybe," agreed Geoff, and it was anyone's guess whether he was joking or not. "But you can't avoid it anymore. I'm waiting for your complete explanation. I'll be in the infirmary with the rest of us."

He left.

_***_

When Ryan entered the infirmary, the three nurses there looked like they were going to have a heart attack. And once they identified him as the Vampire Geoff had brought in earlier, they looked like they were ready to kill him. Ryan almost ran away but Gavin, voice tight and skin far too pale, chimed in.

"It's all right, he won't do anything," he promised. 

The nurses were hard to convince but eventually they walked out, leaving Ryan to face what was left of the team.

Michael's throat was wrapped in bandages soaked in some sort of salve, but his breathing was still harsh, stuttering. He was awake though, and looking almost better than Gavin. Ray was sitting next to him, a hand on his knee in silent support, and Joe was curled on himself in a corner. Geoff was standing up, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, and was looking at Ryan almost calmly, expectantly.

Ryan felt like he was melting under their combined stares. Shame was sinking into him, planting its teeth into his flesh. His legs were shaking, half from the exhaustion and strain of the day and half from wanting to run away from here. His head was still hurting, a pounding hitting behind his eyes and the Vampire blood he had drunk was still burning, boiling in his veins. 

He sat down where he stood, crossing his legs, filthy feet covered in grass and mud and blood. He took a deep breath which he didn't need for anything else but trying to get his mind to calm down. He looked at Geoff.

"Do you know how Vampires are created?" he asked.

"Infect a dead body with Vampire blood," said Geoff quickly. 

"That's one way to do it," conceded Ryan. "Although not exact. Your victim has to be on the brink of death, but not actually dead."

"Whatever," said Geoff. "Are you here to give us a lecture on Vampire birth?"

"I think I am," said Ryan. "There's another way to make a Vampire." He paused here. He hunched on himself, bringing his shoulders up unconsciously. 

His voice had gone dark and deeper than usual, and it made everyone else frown uncomfortably. In a very human move, Ryan rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands as if to rub a tiredness he couldn't feel out of them. He then held out a hand. 

"You take a daddy Vampire." Held out the other hand. "And a mommy Human." He clasped his hands together. "And you get a Human baby."

"Human?" repeated Geoff. 

"All right, it's not Human. But it looks like it, acts like it, thinks like it... until it reaches puberty. At around thirteen years old, daddy Vampire comes around and kills his kid."

Ryan's tone was so heavy that each of his words fell like boulders. Nobody talked, they could barely breathe in the suddenly thick atmosphere as they watched clouds invade Ryan's blue eyes.

"If the kid's strong enough," Ryan went on, his hands still clasped together, "then he'll wake up as a Vampire. One that can grow up. You realize what it means?" he said, looking up at Geoff. "You can nourish the Vampire side. If you transform a dead-ish body, you're done, they can't grow and can't change. But if you nurture the Vampire kid, make him harness his power and grow with it... he becomes faster, stronger, and just generally better than any other Vampire out there. You can make him into a weapon -one that is entirely under you control. It's generally hard to disobey your Maker, but for a Vampire made like this? It's almost impossible. It hurts to even think about it. The pain when you disobey it's... it's excruciating."

Only silence filled the room. Joe was still as a statue, shining eyes on Ryan, while the others were looking everywhere but at him. 

"How come we never heard of this?" asked Joe.

Ryan shrugged. "It's extremely rare. First, Humans generally don't just agree to have sex with a Vampire. You have to trick them or to take it by force. Then you'd want to keep it very quiet or someone, Human or Vampire, might kill the mother or the kid. Plus it's possible the kid won't come back as a Vampire. He may just die, and then you're in the Humans' line of sight and you're hunted..." Ryan paused for a second. "Also Vampires have an ego problem. They don't like having someone better than them around, even if they're basically a slave..."

"And that's what happened to you?" asked Ray bluntly. 

"Yes," conceded Ryan. "I don't think my mother ever knew the man who got her pregnant was a Vampire. From what she told me I thought my dad was just a one-night stranger who disappeared when morning came... well, I wasn't entirely wrong."

"Where is she now?" asked Gavin so quietly that it was almost inaudible. 

Ryan, head cocked to the side and a faraway look in his eyes, answered slowly. "Dead. That was the first order I was ever given. Kill my mother, then all the villagers around. That way the secret was kept... No witnesses to say a Vampire had been here. I think only one villager was spared but he was half-mad. Edgar thought it would be funny to leave a crazy man alone in the wreck to take the blame."

"You... killed your mother?"

Ryan nodded. 

"For what it's worth, I wasn't in a normal state of mind at the time. Thirst is debilitating when you've just been turned, imagine what it's like for someone who's still a kid with little to no inhibitions. You don't remember you used to be human. That only comes later, when you've already drunk pints of blood. And usually it doesn't matter to you, Vampires don't care about their former selves. I don't... I don't know why it failed for me."

"Joel was the same," said Geoff in a low voice. "He always said he used to be an awesome human being."

"Joel had a lot more force of character than I ever had," said Ryan bitterly. "He somehow stayed without drinking a drop of blood for years and years, he never listened to his Maker, fought against him in the last Battle and he saved you without a second thought, Geoff. I couldn't do that. I fled Edgar but I hid like a coward to avoid him."

"But you just killed him!" protested Gavin vehemently. "You said it was excruciating but you did it and you saved us! You're a good person!"

"Only when I had no other choice. Got you and Michael almost killed, Burnie and Dan dead and Jack caught. Talk about force of character..." Ryan bowed his head. "I wanted to take him by surprise and kill him before he had the chance to give me an order. I thought none of them had drunk enough to be able to overpower me, I wanted to make them pay for everything they did... I got caught and enslaved before I could even enter the prison and Edgar made me tell him about you. I was as useful as a fucking rat."

He looked at Michael whose eyes were unreadable. Ray by his side wasn't showing any sign of feeling any intense emotion, but the empath had improved so much... Michael could very well be wishing murder on Ryan in the most horrible way and Ray wouldn't bat an eyelid. 

"I'm sorry," said Ryan. It didn't help anyone to say it, but he had to.

He stood and walked out without another word. The Dryads in the cave immediately ran as far away from him as they could. They'd only accepted him in because he was unconscious and they trusted Geoff, but Ryan couldn't blame them for being scared. He saw crossbows being shifted around nervously. 

He sat at the entrance, legs crossed and elbows on his knees, tips of his fingers massaging his temples to make the headache go away. He was quite surprised to see Geoff's boots enter his field of vision again. 

"Why did he call you James?"

Ryan blinked up. "It's the name he gave me," he said. "Ryan was the one my mother gave me."

"Much more pleasing to the ear," said Geoff approvingly. He sat down next to Ryan. "So when Edgar ordered you to kill me...?"

"He didn't actually say to kill you. I found a way around his order."

Geoff nodded. He looked at the tunnel. "It's night outside. I don't want to send another set of guards out, not after what happened the last time..."

"I'll patrol," said Ryan immediately, standing up.

Geoff grabbed his cloak and pulled him back down.

"Just stay here. No need to go outside, you can barely walk. Rest for a moment. You can feel them if they get near us, right?"

"Huh... yes... but I can cover more ground from the outside--"

"They already got you once, they can get you again," said Geoff. "Don't let them. I need you here."

Ryan frowned. "Why? You have a plan for Jack?"

"Not yet," said Geoff, "but I'll have one by the end of the night. They asked for him, it means they need him alive... right?" 

Ryan had the feeling it was a genuine question, but he didn't answer. He had no idea.

"I can't attack right now," sighed Geoff sadly. "I asked too much out of these people too fast. I can't let anyone else get killed uselessly..."

"I understand. I'll be here whenever you need me."

"Good." 

Geoff patted him on the shoulder, and Ryan waited for him to get up and leave but he didn't. 

Ryan leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Why do you do this?" asked Geoff.

"Huh?" Ryan opened an eye. "What?"

"Closing your eyes. Joel did the same thing. You don't need to, neither of you."

"It's just nice to shut out the rest of the world from time to time, I guess," said Ryan. "Also just nice to remember what it felt like. I really liked sleeping as a kid. Silence and tranquility..."

"You can really remember that much of your time as a Human?"

Ryan had a small laugh. "I was never Human... but yes, I do. I mean, as much as an adult remembers his time as a kid, I suppose. The night I got turned is very clear in my memory, though..."

"I'm sorry."

Ryan opened his second eye to look more fully at Geoff, sitting with a slouch, blue eyes unwavering. 

"I'm sorry for everything you went through. But at the same time... I'm not sorry I didn't trust you."

"I don't hold it against you," said Ryan. "You'd be very stupid to just trust a random Vampire. And you were right. I lied and got people killed."

"Hum... guess we have that in common."

This time Geoff did leave. He talked with a few Dryads as he went but Ryan didn't listen. He turned his hearing to the forest outside, and closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If he concentrated just a bit more, it could feel like sleeping... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is almost done, it will be posted in a few days. Sorry for the slow updates!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a long-ish chapter! We are approaching the end. We are approaching the great final battle...

In the night, the Dryad woman's murky eyes were glowing with a white, ghostly light that made Jack feel like she could see into his soul.

She had finished talking and every word that had come out of her mouth had felt like a dagger piercing through him. His fists were so tight his fingernails were digging in his palm. Small sparks of fire ran all over his skin only to be immediately put out by the heavy rain. Each ice-cold drop seemed to burrow into his skin, clashing harshly with the heat that was pulsing through him.

"You're lying," he said through gritted teeth.

"Why would I lie?" asked the Dryad. She was sitting casually on a pile of broken, soggy planks that had once been someone's home.

"Because you're completely mad!"

"So everyone tells me," she said. "I take it you're not going to let me do what needs to be done, then."

"Kill me?" roared Jack. "So you can make a slave out of me? No, I fucking won't!"

"Just imagine the raw power of a Vampire running through you... Imagine what it must feel like to drink a Dryad's blood. So pure and sparkling..."

"Shut up!" Jack's voice was cracking.

"I've spent so many years looking for you, Jack... That man posing as your father took you away from me. He hid you from me. You are not his son, you not an Elemental. Do you know what your fire is? Your fire is pure power!"

"Shut up."

"Just imagine what you would be by now if I'd had you from the start! You would be unstoppable. The immortality of a Vampire and my magic are both flowing in your veins. You and I should be Kings... you may have grown up, but you still have Vampire blood in you. I can make you into what you're supposed to be right now. I can give you the worlds!"

"You won't fucking touch me."

She rolled her eyes and stood back up, her clothes dirty and soaked.

"Jack, you won't be able to overpower me. I have control over you right now and I haven't even turned you yet. Do you really think resisting is a wise choice?"

"You don't control me!"

"Sit."

Jack felt his legs buckle under him and he fell on his ass on the muddy floor, speechless.

"Drinking an empath's blood gives you interesting powers," said the Dryad with a smile.

"Shut up," growled Jack.

"Don't you have something else to say?" She put on a mocking voice, "'Shut up! You're not my real mum! I hate you!' Grow up, you eternal baby. I am your mother, and you will obey me!"

Jack felt her power of persuasion wrap around him, like tendrils ensnaring him. He shut his eyes tight. He'd heard what Gavin had told Ray, the lessons he'd given him. He could block her out. He could resist...

"Stop it!" snapped the Dryad. "You are insufferable!"

A hand cold as ice grabbed his neck and Jack's eyes flew back open. He stared into the eyes of the Dryad, a muddy green that remained still as stale water, dirty and sullied.

"Do you think you came to me by pure coincidence?" she said, voice drawling. "Do you think it's just a quirky fact of fate if you're with me right here, right now? We share the same blood, Jack, and we are anything but normal. We call to each other. You didn't come on this stupid quest of yours because you thought you were going to win, did you? I bet you don't even know why you followed that Dryad. I'll tell you : because I was calling to you and you answered my call without even noticing it. You can't escape me."

She smiled. Her teeth were too sharp, her breath putrid. _  
_

"We are going to win," she said. "We are going to be Kings."

_***_

Ray jumped to his feet as Geoff entered the infirmary and whizzed right through it, going straight for the Elders' little room.

"What's he doing?" whispered Gavin. He was curled up next to a dozing Michael, a hand on his chest as if to make sure he kept breathing as he slept.

"Dunno..."

"Think we should follow him?"

Ray glanced at his Dryad friend.

"I think you shouldn't. Joe and I can."

"But-"

"Just stay," sighed Ray.

He patted his shoulder as he walked past and entered after Geoff.

The Elemental wasn't doing anything but stand in front of the three Elders, hands on his hips, and his whole being radiating frustration. The Elders looked even older than the last time Ray had seen them, only three weeks ago. Ray realized he didn't even know their names. They had stayed invisible and unheard all this time, even as their own people were getting murdered just outside their gates.

"You still refuse to help?" asked Geoff. "You still refuse to use your magic to defend a thousand people? All the children who are defenseless?"

One of the Elders narrowed her eyes at him. "I thought you had everything figured out," she said bitterly.

"And I thought you wanted to protect your people," retorted Geoff. "I only took the power off of you because you didn't do anything with it. I never claimed I could protect them, I claimed I would do my best and that's what I did, so don't fucking start putting the blame on me!"

The Elders glared, but Geoff glared right back.

"The Fence was open, which means whoever they have on their side is a Dryad," he said. "You must know something about it. Why did they ask for Jack? Tell me!"

He had shouted the last words, voice echoing around the small chamber and making everyone startle. Ray couldn't feel anything out of the Elders, they were quite skilled at masking their emotions. But as they stayed silent and still, glaring at Geoff, Ray let his consciousness go and tap lightly at their defences. Just to see. Just to test...

He found a crack, and he dived in it.

The floury of emotions he received was almost enough to make him fall over. He stumbled backwards and pushed it all back, retreating inside his own mind, and blinked until he noticed that his little stunt had not gone unseen. They were all staring at him now.

"They know," he told Geoff. "I felt it. They're hiding something. They're guilty."

"Stay in your own mind," barked one Elder. "Hasn't anyone told you this was impolite?"

"Tell him what you know!" snapped Ray.

"You have no authority here, young man."

Geoff made a sound in the back of his throat and Ray felt something crack. It was so loud and sudden that for a second he thought it had been a bone snapping, before realizing what he'd felt was Geoff crumbling from the inside. All his patience and tolerance collapsed as he put his head in his hands and kept on making this strangled, miserable moan into his palms. Ray had to quickly block him off before the overwhelming flow of negative feelings the Elemental was struggling with gripped his mind as well.

Geoff stopped making any sound at all. He sighed deeply and rubbed his face before looking back up. The Elders were utterly still and silent as they watched him.

"Listen to me," he said, his voice almost shaking. "I'll give you back power over your people. I'll give you everything back. You can do whatever the fuck you want--"

"Geoff," started Joe warningly, but Geoff continued.

"I just want you to tell me if you know where Jack is and who has him. I can't leave him behind! So just... Just tell me. I'll leave you alone after that, I'll even leave your world if you want. You have my word."

The silence stretched. Ray stood shocked, blocking absolutely everything out in fear that if he felt anything coming from Geoff he would feel like curling up on the floor and let himself die. Geoff had given up entirely on the Dryads, worse than the Elders ever had. He didn't care anymore.

"Her name is Morana. She was an Elder."

The Elder's voice echoed around the silent room.

"What happened?" asked Geoff quietly.

"She was greedy."

"There was a time when there were a hundred of us," said another. "Elders, chosen to govern the people because we had proved ourselves worthy. We were the most powerful magicians, we commanded respect."

"But we forgot," said the third Elder simply. "As the years pass, we forget that time when we were a powerful people, when our power was admired by every other living creatures... Morana was part of the last generation of Elders before us. She had always been ambitious and meaner than others, but nobody suspected her when another Elder went missing. Then there was another, and another... Eventually people became suspicious. When fingers started pointing at her, she didn't even try to deny it."

"Why did she kill them?" asked Joe.

"For their blood."

"She's a Vampire?"

"Blood can bring power to everyone and anyone, as long as you know how to unlock it. For Vampires it's instinctive, they consume the blood's life force until there's nothing left. For living creatures it's more difficult. It involves magic. Morana has always been the most powerful magician."

"She discovered the spell, and she used it. She drank the other Elders to increase her powers. Then she moved on to other Dryads... and to Vampires."

"Oh God," breathed Ray. "That's fucking sick..."

"That's what too much power does to you," grumbled an Elder. "Drinking blood as she did changes you. It scrambled her brain."

"She was successfully drawn away when the Elders got together to fight her," went on another. "But as magicians started to die off... she has come back. We are the last magicians alive. She wants to get us."

"So you hiding underground is just a way to protect yourselves?" asked Ray. "You're using those Dryads in the cave as a flesh shield, aren't you."

"Do you know where she is?" asked Geoff as if he hadn't even heard what Ray had said.

"It's raining outside," said an Elder.

"So what?"

"So, it is not normal rain. The fires will guide you."

"The fires? Oh..."

Understanding dawned on Geoff's face. He turned on his heel and started walking out, but an Elder called him back.

"You will do what you promised?"

Geoff didn't answer. He walked through the door. Ray and Joe followed anxiously.

Ray grabbed him by his cloak as he was walking past Michael and Gavin, who were both awake and looking at them confusedly.

"Geoff, you can't do that!" he said.

"Can't do what?" growled Geoff. "Can't go out and save my friend? You bet your ass I can."

"But you can't leave the Dryads alone! You can't give power back to those three idiots!"

"He's right, Geoff," said Joe. "If you leave them, they will die."

"Of course they won't," grumbled Geoff.

"You're leaving?" asked Gavin's tiny voice.

They looked at him, eyes big with uncontained fear. Michael by his side was looking thunderous. Had he had his voice he would have been yelling.

"I am," said Geoff calmly. "I'm sorry, Gavin. I have to go get Jack. I'm going to grab Ryan and we're--"

"You're leaving us alone?" squeaked Gavin. "You... you told me you would help us. You told me you were going to try! Why are you leaving us?"

"Gavin, shut up. I--"

"Geoff, don't tell him to shut up!" roared Ray.

Everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Ray himself was quite startled by the force of his anger.

"You cannot leave the Elders in charge, you can't leave this world! They will die, all of them!"

Geoff closed his eyes briefly and sighed.

"Good lord, you're a bunch of idiots," he said. "Do you remember how I took power from those three dried plums? I made a five minutes-long fucking speech. That's all it took. You think the Dryads will follow their orders blindly if there's someone else they can trust around?"

"What are you saying?" asked Joe, eyes squinting.

"It doesn't matter if the Elders think they're in charge or not. They aren't, not as long as we are here. Nobody trusts them! The Dryads will listen to you without a second thought. Hell, they'll listen to their own instincts before trusting an Elder. They just need directions and encouragement, and you guys are perfectly capable to give them that, you don't need me."

He looked down at Gavin's wide eyes, and he smiled, a bit sadly.

"I'm not leaving you alone. There's Michael and Ray. There's Joe. And you have an army of Dryads ready to fight. If anything happens to me while I'm out..." Geoff paused briefly. "Well, you'll just have to think sensibly about whatever comes at you and react accordingly. If Ryan and I get Jack back? You bet your ass we'll come back here. I'm not leaving this world before I'm done with it."

"You... lied to the Elders?" mumbled Gavin.

"They lied to me, I lied to them, nobody can fucking trust anybody around here. I only trust you guys, so don't panic and stay strong until I come back."

He patted Gavin on the head and ruffled his hair briefly before he walked out of the infirmary.

Ray felt an emotion tickle him and he glanced at Michael.

"Yeah, I agree," he said. "He's a fucking show-off."

_***_

The smell of nature drenched in rain was filtering through the Fence.

The rain itself was falling in front of Geoff and Ryan's eyes, as if they were standing in front of a window and looking outside. Their feet were dry. One step forward, and they'll be soaked.

Miles bent down and picked up the small white stone at his feet. The air shimmered. A few droplets flung about by the wind entered through the door now opened. Miles raised his crossbow up, in case anything from the outside wanted to chance itself at passing through.

"Thank you," said Geoff. He unsheathed his sword and took a deep breath.

Miles, crossbow unwavering, glanced at him. "Please come back."

"I'll try," said Geoff. He stepped out of the protective circle and into the rain.

Ryan followed him.

"What are we looking for?" he asked.

Geoff blinked away the drops of rain in his eyes and looked back at Miles putting the stone back in place and turning around, running back to the cave.

"Small flying fires," he said.

"Like those things in the Field? I wondered what they were..."

"It's a whole magic thing. I don't understand everything, I just know they spawn where there's a lot of magic. There should be more and more of them as we approach Morana."

"All right..."

Ryan looked around, his vision picking up small waves of light Geoff's couldn't. He walked for a few paces and pointed.

"There's one over there."

"Let's catch it."

_***_

The Dryad's claws were digging into Jack's skin, ready to tear the flesh apart.

She was mumbling under her breath ; with each new word Jack felt something move in his mind, something shiny, something that made his heartbeat quicken and his veins tingle. It didn't feel bad. But he didn't want to feel it at all, not when it was inflicted on him against his will. He just couldn't bring himself to move, scared the claws would rip his neck.

The Dryad suddenly stopped. She frowned. The glowing _something_ in Jack's mind went back into hiding.

"Someone's here," she said. "Someone who shouldn't be here."

With unnatural strength she manhandled Jack to his knees and kept him in front of her as a shield.

"Show yourself!" she roared.

Two red eyes came alight in between the trees. Ryan stepped out of the shadows, walk calm and measured, lips in a thin line. He was dishevelled and his soaked clothes were stained with blood. Jack felt his heart clench. Had Ryan killed someone? Had he drunk Gavin?

"You," said the Dryad. "I told Edgar he'd better kill you. This idiot was far too enamoured with you."

"He's dead now," said Ryan.

"I figured. You here to get him, I presume?" She shook Jack in her grip.

"If you'd be so kind."

"Come get him."

"Don't tempt him, he's not in a good mood," said another voice from behind.

Jack's heart leapt as he heard it. Geoff was here! Geoff was alive! ...Geoff was going to die soon if Geoff didn't run away _right now_. Jack tried to yell at him to get the fuck out but the hand around his throat gave a threatening squeeze.

Ryan roared and attacked.

The last thing Jack heard was a crazy giggle in his ear, and then claws sunk into his skin and tore his neck open.

The shock made him fall to his knees, hands going to the wound. He felt the blood flowing through his fingers like water off a waterfall. It didn't hurt, not at first ; not until he slid and fell on his side in the wet grass. Then the pain exploded.

He wanted to scream but nothing came, only more pain. Fog filled his mind so quickly. He could hear indistinct sounds around him, voices maybe, but his ears were ringing and his blood was flowing.

Hands grabbed him. More voices, more sounds. Jack was dying.

Panic seized him. What if Morana was right, was if he came back as a Vampire? Under her control, what if she ordered him to kill Geoff and Michael, to kill Dryads? He couldn't die. He couldn't let this happen!

"Jack! You don't die!" Geoff was screaming from somewhere. Jack wholeheartedly agreed with that statement but couldn't say it. "You do not die! You just don't! You do something!"

The flow of blood was slowing down under his hands. Had he run out of the precious liquid already? No, he couldn't die. He had to stay alive. He had to stay here if only because he couldn't bear to be the cause of Geoff's sadness.

"RYAN! Do something, Jack's dying!"

"'Bit busy, Geoff!"

"Let her go I don't care! Jack can't die!"

Commotion. Jack vaguely wondered why he wasn't dead yet. Blood and blood and blood and there was still life in him, somehow. The pain had stopped too. He wasn't a Vampire yet, he knew that much ; he was just alive. How odd.

A shadow fell over him, Ryan's voice echoed.

"B-but Geoff, he's--"

"I know he is, I don't know what it means but he's still alive and we need to fucking do something!"

"I can't stitch up wou--Oh shit! His water!" yelled Ryan.

"What?!"

"His water skin! He filled it with water from the lake! Where is it..."

"Oh God. He must have left it in the cave."

"Keep pressure on his neck. I'm going to get it."

Ryan was gone in a flash.

Jack's hands were pushed away and Geoff's took their place. It wasn't of any use. He wasn't bleeding anymore. He didn't know why.

"Stay with me, Jack. I forbid you to die. You can't do this to me, I went all the way over here with fucking Ryan to get you! Do you know how annoying he is? I mean, turns out he's on our side. I know, crazy right... It's a long fucking story. One you have to stay alive to hear, okay?"

Jack laughed weakly. It came out as a gurgle and Geoff's hands pushed a little harder on his neck.

"You're gonna be all right," said Geoff. "You're gonna be fine. You're glowing, by the way. I don't know why but you're fucking glowing. I didn't know you could glow."

Well... Neither did Jack. He managed to lift a hand so he could look at it. It was drenched with blood, but the little skin he could see under all that red was, indeed, glowing. Like a Dryad's skin.

Jack's bloody hand found Geoff's ankle and squeezed weakly. His eyes closed and consciousness slipped away to the sound of Geoff's pleas.

_***_

Geoff had been right, thought Ray. The Dryads were scared shitless, but as he walked through the crowds Ray felt determination. A will to fight that definitely hadn't been here a few weeks ago. There was a fire in them that Geoff and Michael had managed to ignite. These people were far, very far from the unmitigated cowards Humans kept painting them as.

Ray saw them take up their crossbows and practice on a naked wall. He saw them carve more weapon and sharpen the tips of the few metal arrows. Joe had taken up the role of leader, and Dryads kept coming up to him to ask his opinion on strategies, on hiding spots, on where to strike to kill in one blow.

He saw Miles in the middle of the frenzy and slithered his way to him, watching him work on carving a wooden spear.

"Hey!" greeted Miles with his usual enthusiasm. "You all right?"

"Yeah," said Ray as he sat down by his side.

"Geoff and Jack will be all right you know," said Miles. "They're obviously fighters."

"Hmm," said Ray. "I'm worried about Ryan too..."

"Really?" Miles looked mildly surprised. "If you want my opinion, that Vampire deserves everything that's thrown his way."

Ray didn't answer. How could he explain to a Dryad that he didn't blame the Vampire responsible for the death of a few of his people, that Ray felt sympathy for him?

"You think we're gonna win?" asked Miles all of a sudden.

Ray looked at him for a moment, watching his glowing hands go over the wood over and over until it was slick and sharp as a blade.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "I think we're not gonna fall without trying."

"Yeah," agreed Miles. "It would just be better if we could, you know, try *and* win. I don't fancy being killed..."

Ray felt a pang of fear and sadness in his heart. He didn't want to see anyone die. Ever... but it was now unavoidable. He was going to see friends die, there was no way around it. He swallowed thickly.

"Miles... can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Have you ever been able to read a Vampire's mind?"

"What?" Miles stopped working on his spear to give his full attention to Ray. "It's impossible. Our most powerful empaths can't do it."

Ray nodded slowly and Miles frowned.

"Why? Did you... did you do it?"

"I think I did," said Ray quietly. "When Ryan was trying to get Michael to get out of the cave, you know? I think I felt his uneasiness. I felt that something was wrong."

A shudder ran through Miles.

"Listen, dude, your empathy is weird and unpredictable... I wouldn't play with that if I were you. You don't know what will happen if something goes wrong."

"Yeah," said Ray with a sigh. "I guess so."

"Trust me. A Vampire's brain can't be a good place. For anyone."

A commotion made Ray jump to his feet. Panicked Dryads jumped away from the entrance in waves, dancing to avoid the fire while trying to retract.

"What's happening!" shouted Ray.

"Ray!!"

"Ryan?!"

Ray elbowed Dryads left and right to manage a path to the entrance where he met with Ryan. Alive and looking well if not for claw marks on his cheek.

"Ryan! Where's Ja--"

"I don't have the time. Jack's satchel, where is it?"

"Infirmary."

Ryan immediately leapt over several dryads as if he were jumping hurdles. The Dryads scattered in panic.

The Vampire was inside the infirmary in a second and out of it in another.

"What's happening!" shouted Ray, but Ryan was already out of the cave.

Ray hesitated for half a second, and half a second only, before he cast his mind outwards. He had to know. He had to know if someone he loved had died.

He found Ryan's mind, looking like a black box locked with heavy chains. He touched it, and he saw everything.

The Vampire's emotions were swirling around each other until they painted a picture that looked like memories. Ray felt the rain, the city in ruins, and the blood seeping out of Jack between Geoff's desperate fingers.

He slammed back into his own head feeling like he was going to vomit and fled to a corner, crouching in the dark, trying to get those images out of his head.

_***_

"I have it!"

Geoff thought he was going to keel over as he heard Ryan's voice. The rain was blurring his vision but he saw the dark silhouette run to them in a blur.

Ryan skidded to his knees and opened the skin with his teeth.

"How's he?"

"Just pour the fucking water," growled Geoff urgently.

Ryan tipped over the water skin and they watched the liquid, clear and sparkling, splash onto the wound. It washed away the blood, and under their eyes Jack's flesh, glowing faintly, knitted itself back together until only thin white scars remained. The golden glow faded away immediately and left his skin sickeningly pale.

Geoff's bloody hands took Jack's slack one.

"Come on dude," he whispered. "Don't leave me now..."

"I can hear his blood pumping," said Ryan. "I'm amazed he still has any left."

"He was glowing."

"I know."

"Like a fucking Dryad."

"I know."

"He stopped bleeding by himself!"

"I know..."

"What does it mean, Ryan?"

"I don't know."

"Oh for fuck's sake..."

"It must be why he's still alive... And why that crazy fucking Dryad wanted hi--oh shit," said Ryan, tensing suddenly.

"What?"

"The Vampires are moving, I can feel them. Oh crap that's powerful," said Ryan with a wince, as if he was getting a headache. "They're coming. All of them."

Geoff grabbed Jack's arms and heaved him up.

"Let's go back to the cave."

"No... Geoff..." mumbled Jack.

Immediately Geoff put him back down, fearing to have hurt him.

"Jack? Are you with me?"

"Geoff... I'm a Vampire..."

Geoff blinked at him. "No. She didn't turn you. You're safe."

"No, you don't understand..." Jack's hands grabbed his cloak, fists twisting in the fabric. "She made me... with a Vampire..."

"Oh." Ryan said simply, a single and definite word.

It took Geoff two more seconds to understand what Jack meant. When he did he had to bite his own tongue to stop himself from screaming. Did people really fucking enjoy making a mess of his whole life? Tearing his whole world down brick by brick, person by person, memory by memory?

"It's all right Jack." Ryan's voice made Geoff's attention snap back to Jack. "You're in good company here. Come on. Geoff?"

"Yes," said Geoff, getting back up. Now was not the time for a self-pity show. "We need to get him back to camp. We'll talk about all this later."

They picked him up and ran.

_***_

Geoff. Geoff was back. 

Ray fought his way through the crowd until he reached the Elemental. He had an exhausted looking Jack by his side, whom Ray immediately hugged.

"You got him!" he squeaked.

"Ray we don't have time," said Geoff, breaking the hug. "The Vampires are coming."

"What?!"

"They're coming. Joe, Ryan's outside."

"I'm on it."

Joe ran out of the cave.

"What... What are they doing?" asked Ray.

"Defending. Ray listen to me carefully. They have a crazed Dryad on their side, and she knows empathy. She can control people who can't steel themselves, okay? You need to hide from her."

"What?"

"Your mind is wide open and fragile, if she gets to you she will destroy you! Hide!"

Geoff ran off to the infirmary and left Ray gaping like a fish behind him.

Run away? Hide? ...Right. Run away to go where, exactly. Ray had no life. The only thing he could possibly live for were a Human, two Elementals, a Dryad and a Vampire, and these were here, ready to die protecting people.

Scared Dryads were bumping into him from all sides, shouting and screaming at each other. More than half of them had some kind of weapon out, ready to swing. They were all terrified and still Ray was able to block their emotions out. He was stronger than all of them united. He wasn't the scared, helpless little boy he used to be. He could help. He could stand by his team, these people he considered family.

Ray closed his eyes and took a big breath. When he opened them, he knew what he was going to do.

_***_

Gavin was doing his best to keep a thrashing Michael down.

"You don't go out!" he said. "You do not go out! You're hurt and you're not strong enough!"

Michael's abused throat was making strained little sounds. Gavin guessed they were meant to be insults and curses.

"Geoff told us to hide, so we're hiding. Look, I can keep you down! Me! If that's not proof that you're not strong enough to fight, I don't know what is, I'm half your size you dumb sausage! How are you going to fight a Vampire? Stop. Moving!"

Michael didn't listen to him. He only stopped moving when Geoff walked out of the Elders' room with all three Elders walking after him.

Gavin looked at them, walking high and proud on shrunken legs, their eyes shining. He had never seen them walk before, and somehow this made it all sink in. This was it, this was war. The Vampires were going to tear through everyone like butter.

None of them spared a glance to Michael and Gavin, but Geoff threw a water skin at him that Gavin barely managed to catch. It was Jack's, it was what Ryan had torn through the infirmary to find just minutes earlier.

Gavin looked inside. The water was sparkling like gems.

"Healing water," he breathed. "Michael, lie down."

This time, Michael did it without a word of protest.

_***_

The trees were still, not a gust of wind to move the leaves.

Ryan was just as immobile. Joe wouldn't have been surprised to see him changed into stone if it weren't for his eyes shining red in the night, snapping around as if he could hear things that Joe could not.

It was completely silent, though. Ryan may not have been hearing, but rather feel them.

"Are they close?" asked Joe.

Ryan nodded. Silent. Still. Tense.

A shimmer through the air and the invisible Fence broke. Raindrops started to fall over them in a steady dribble.

Two red points blinked in the dark in front of them.

Ryan growled. A hundred growls answered.

_***_

Geoff had been trying to get scared Dryads off of him, trying to calm them down, trying to organize his thoughts. He didn't have a plan, he had nothing. He had absolutely nothing but three frail Elders who didn't think their combined magic could fight against Morana's.

"Don't lose faith," he said to a scared mother who was holding her child in her arms. "We'll take care of you."

He tried to mean it, to let the empaths feel his determination. But panic settled over him as the promise of fighting hundreds of Vampire became a reality, and he wasn't sure he meant anything anymore. Geoff had embarked on this journey because he wanted to be able to say that at least he had tried, that he hadn't stayed idle while a whole race was dying. Well, he could certainly say that now, but he feared the only difference he had made was to bring eight more bodies in to feed the trees in this forest.

The Elders were grumbling somewhere behind him, not even looking at the Dryads around them. Geoff turned around to tell them to start doing something helpful, but the words didn't leave his mouth as he saw a tiny body clad in filthy black clothes slither through the maddened crowd and take to the tunnel.

"RAY!!" he bellowed. "COME BACK HERE! RAY!!"

He fought harder and managed to break free of the hundreds of hands trying to grab him. He sprung out of the cave, his sword in hands.

"RAY! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!"

_***_

Jack was standing in front of the fire. The flames were licking his scratched skin without burning him, docile and tamed.

Geoff had been forced to leave him behind, ordering him to stay hidden. He still felt weak and unsteady. He wasn't going to be able to help anyone... But he could ask the flames to burn him to death right now. Morana could never bring a charred body back to life. He could escape being turned into a Vampire and a mindless slave, escape being used against his own friends. His family.

He jumped as a hand grabbed his arm.

Michael was looking at him. His throat looked healed, the skin smooth and white, but he still didn't speak. He raised his sword in a surprisingly steady hand, obviously trying to communicate something to Jack.

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be up! Did you get the water?"

Michael frowned and thrust his sword towards Jack more insistently. When Jack couldn't understand, Michael sighed and tugged at him until he followed.

They walked through the Dryads and towards the tunnel. Jack thought about digging his feet into the earth and refusing to walk further, but he didn't. He followed Michael right out of the cave.

Geoff was there, looking at a sea of unmoving, unblinking red eyes between the trees -and up the trees. He turned around as he heard them and Jack thought he was going to have a heart attack on the spot.

"What. The fuck. Are you two doing," hissed Geoff between gritted teeth. "Go back inside."

"What are they waiting for?" asked Jack.

"The Hungry ones," said Ryan without moving an inch. "They're waiting for the rabid, starving Vampires to come along and feast on us."

"Oh," said a scared little voice from behind them.

Jack didn't have to turn around to know it was Gavin. Geoff looked ready to kill them all himself.

"Go. Back."

"I wanted to take Michael!" defended Gavin. "Michael, come on, come back inside with me."

For all answer Michael brandished his sword and pointed it at Gavin's neck. The Dryad stopped moving and breathing entirely.

"This is not the time, this is so not the time," moaned Geoff. "I regret knowing you guys sometimes. I really do."

"They're coming," said Ryan.

He crouched, claws on his naked feet finding purchase in the dirt, ready to spring.

There was a sound that Geoff couldn't identify. The rain intensified, thick droplets crashing on them with violence. Under his feet Geoff saw the green grass shrivel and turn to ash.

Morana's voice broke the stillness.

"Bring me the fire Elemental alive!"

And the Vampires attacked.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm repeating myself, but : sorry for the wait. Here's a new chapter! 
> 
> Battle scene? Battle scene.

Under Geoff's command trees bent down with a deafening crack, cutting off the Vampires in their rush. Dryads were coming out of the cave in waves, crossbows and daggers clutched in their trembling hands.

Up in a tree, Ray watched it all happen.

Geoff's fence was only a temporary help. Recently-fed Vampires all but jumped over it like it was nothing. The Hungry ones, limbs heavy and minds altered by starvation, were clumsier but they were still tearing through the wood. The toxic rain was making leaves and grass die, and Ray could feel the bark under him start to melt. He had to act quickly.

He closed his eyes and unleashed his mind, no holds barred, consciousness free and flying through the wind. It caught the Vampires that were tearing through the forest and Ray focused.

Two swords clanged against claws as Geoff and Michael swung. It wasn't anywhere near enough. Vampires charged past them and started digging into the earth, making the Dryads' cave fall apart under their feet until it all simply caved in.

A few feet away five Vampires were trying to get Jack. Ray saw their minds, black putrid boxes that were making him want to turn around. He clenched his teeth and dived in.

_*_

Jack heard screams and cries but he couldn't look. A Vampire was charging at him, mouth open and saliva dribbling. Jack clapped his hands and fire spread out.

The rain put it out almost immediately but it had made the Vampire jump back. Jack summoned another set of flames and sent them out only to see them snuffed out again. He took a step back as red eyes snapped to him.

A rain of arrows flew past him. Vampires started to fall to the rhythm of the crossbows. Only few were killed, many only wounded. Jack saw Joe's orange fur run past him and tackle three Vampires at a time.

A claw grabbed Jack and threw him down. Hands sleek with rain, he gritted his teeth with the effort of calling fire into this damp world. It refused to work and now the Vampire was on him, eyes shining with hunger. Then he stopped.

Jack blinked up at the Vampire who simply looked back, frozen in place with an expression of bewilderment on his face, the one and only fixed point in the middle of a raging battle.

Jack didn't waste time trying to understand. He wriggled out of the Vampire's grip, just as Michael jumped out of nowhere and killed the creature and four others who'd been standing around. He tried to retreat, to get somewhere more sheltered, but before he could do anything a hand cold as ice closed around his neck and a powerful mind wrapped around his.

"Kneel," it ordered, and Jack did.

_*_

Gavin crawled out of the earth, spitting and spluttering. He and many others had been buried under when the Vampires had broken the cave, now he tried to dig frantically to get to the Dryads still struggling to get out. He pulled children out of the earth, pulled out a few people who immediately jumped to their feet and ran to the battlefield.

Vampires were on them in no time, picking up weak Dryads with such violence that Gavin heard bones crack. He screamed, tried to get up to fight, but he was grabbed too and thin, pointy fangs shone above him.

He barely had time to scream for help that a beam of light shot out and hit the Vampire in the chest, pushing him back. Gavin fell down and scrambled backwards.

A golden dome appeared above his head. Glinting as if there was a sun to make it glow, it seemed to be made of particles of dust. It stretched until it enveloped the children and the Dryads who were curled on themselves, unable to fight. Gavin looked back to see the three Elders with their arms up in the air at the centre of the small dome, pouring all their magic into this protective fence. Vampires immediately started hitting it, trying to break through.

Gavin looked outside. The battle had only started five minutes ago and already corpses littered the ground. He saw several Dryads being caught, several others desperately trying to get their friend out of a Vampire's grip and failing. The Vampires were too powerful, too fast, and the more Dryad they caught and killed, the more deadly they became. The Dryads didn't stand a chance. They fought with all the desperation of people who knew they were going to die.

Gavin caught sight of Ryan, swirling in the middle of it all with his claws out and his eyes shining red. He was the only one who managed to keep up against his peers, but even him was overwhelmed.

Then Gavin saw him change direction abruptly, and when he saw what Ryan was aiming for he almost choked on a cry. Morana had appeared in the middle of the battlefield, standing tall as if nothing of importance was happening around her. She had a hand around Jack kneeling by her side.

Ryan was almost on her when she did something with her hands, Gavin couldn't see what. But it made Ryan fall down in a boneless heap, crumpling on himself and he stayed down like a broken doll as Morana disappeared and took Jack with her.

Gavin threw himself against the golden dome. He had to get out of this.

_*_

Michael was panting and his gulps of air were scratching his raw throat. The healing water had mended the outside but Michael hadn't been sure drinking it would be good for him. The inside of his throat was still burning like he'd swallowed the sun itself, his airways bruised and swollen. 

He held his sword tight, head spinning, and tried to locate Jack. He'd just seen him a second ago. Where the fuck was he?

He didn't find him but his eyes found a Vampire with her teeth deep inside a Dryad's throat. Limbs slack and eyes wide open, the poor creature was being drunk alive. Michael ran.

The Vampire was too caught up in her sick bliss to notice him coming. Michael's sword swung into her dead flesh and cut her head clean off her shoulders.

The Dryad fell to the ground and Michael immediately picked him up and tried to run to safety, wherever that may be. He never managed as a clawed hand grabbed his shoulder and pierced his flesh. The pain made him lose his grip and the Dryad fell, instantly lost in the sea of stampeding feet. He turned around just in time to get his sword through the wide open mouth of a Vampire ready to strike.

He swivelled in the mud, eyes looking for familiar people. A small dome of light had appeared somewhere close to the Dryads' cave, sending shimmers of light on haggard faces. Geoff was a few feet away and Michael ran to him.

_*_

Geoff barely knew what he was doing.

He'd been trained all his life, prepped for war by his parents and grandparents. But all the preparation in the world would never be enough ; he would never know how to handle a battle field.

Memories of the two previous wars he'd fought in had been wiped from his mind. He'd gladly let them fade away in a mess of bloody images and fading cries of terror. And now he was seeing it all over again.

And if he knew how to use his sword and where to strike, the noise around him, the smell of blood, the sweat pouring in his eyes and his heart racing in his chest made left him blind, deaf and panicking.

He ran like a mad man, hitting everything he could and sinking in the mud. He was pushed into the ground repeatedly, almost lost his sword twice. The Vampires were more interested in the Dryads than in him. He wasn't going to be good enough. People were dying and he didn't know how to make it stop.

Three Vampires noticed him and converged on him. Geoff was steeling himself for the fight, sword up in defense, and looked in astonishment as they all but stopped dead in their tracks without warning. Their eyes widened in surprise, as if they didn't know what was happening.

Geoff jumped and cut through them, arms aching under the strain. He looked around him quickly, cursing himself for not having made Ray go back to safety. If that Morana saw he could manipulate Vampires now, she was going to make minced meat out of him. But Ray was nowhere to be seen and Geoff saw a Dryad being snatched by a Vampire and had to give up his search.

As he ran to help he was caught and thrown aside. He landed in the mud and hit a rock, a striking pain shooting through his skull, vision blacking out for a second. He blinked furiously, trying to regain his composure but it was too late. A Vampire, cheeks pink with the fresh blood streaming through him, was looking down at him.

"How does it feel to know you're at my mercy?" he sneered.

"How does it feel to be a Dryad's little bitch?" retorted Geoff. "Does she scratch behind your ears when you've been a good dog?"

In retrospect that may not have been the best thing to say. The Vampire roared in rage and slammed his head against the stone behind him.

The last thing he saw was Michael jumping in front of him.

_*_

Ray's tree was dying. He had to jump down before it fell over and took him with it.

He landed in the middle of rabid Vampires who immediately snapped to him. He rolled on himself to avoid hands and feet and pushed his mind out. His whole body was trembling like a leaf as Ray forced the minds of the Vampires to bend to his will, making them all step away from him until they were far enough for him to crawl his way towards someone with a weapon.

A Dryad armed with a dagger jumped over him to stab a Vampire in the heart, another one was aiming a crossbow with trembling arms and hesitating to shoot. Ray quickly sent out the message that she better do it _now_. The arrow flew out and hit a Vampire in the heart.

He caught a taste of Michael's familiar brand of anger, steadfast and reassuring, and dragged himself towards it.

_*_

Michael was on the Vampire in a flash, pushing it back and away from Geoff's still body.

With a twist of his wrist he gutted the Vampire, his wounded arm burning with pain. He turned around, Geoff's name trapped in his burning throat, and found Ray crouched over the Elemental.

Michael wanted to ask him what the fuck he was doing, but he didn't need any words for Ray to understand him and the empath glanced up at him. Face gaunt and eyes sunken, he looked utterly exhausted.

It didn't take a genius to understand what he'd been doing, pushing back Vampires with his mind until he was completely drained. In a moment of lull Michael sent out a mental order to Ray to stay put, to stop before his brain leaked out of his fucking ears.

"Right," was all Ray said. Michael wondered how he'd heard him over the noise of the battle but didn't dwell on it.

Vampires came at him and he dug his feet in the mud mixed with blood, sword up and steady in his battered hands, eyes looking through the fractured lenses of his glasses. They were losing, this was quite clear, but he'd be fucked if he gave up. He was now a shield for Ray and Geoff and he was not going to fail them.

_*_

Outside the dome it was chaos. Noises and movements and things scratching Gavin's skin and trying to get to him as he ran towards his fallen friend with for sole defense his dagger held tight in his fist, slashing at thighs and stomachs. The chaos worked to his advantage, offering him a confused landscape in which to melt.

Gavin grabbed Ryan's arms and put all his strength into pulling him away from the clawed feet and the arrows flying. The Vampire was heavy as hell and by the time Gavin managed to find them some form of shelter, he was almost dead with fatigue.

He knelt by Ryan's side. Deep wounds in his chest, enough to seen bone underneath, were bleeding but only a ridiculously small amount. How long had it been since Ryan had last drunk anything? He said he drank animals but Gavin hadn't seen seen him eat anything or anyone since they'd met. He might never be able to heal.

Gavin whimpered and sat down, feeling horribly crushed. Around him the battle kept happening and it was only a matter of time before he was discovered under the fallen tree. He was going to die here too.

A thought knocked at his mind, tiny and timid, as if scared to even be heard. Gavin looked at the dagger slung inside his belt and felt a push of desperation twist his guts. He had no other choice... Ryan had helped him and gone through excruciating pain for him, now it was Gavin's turn to help him back.

He took the dagger and put the blade against his skin. A deep breath, he closed his eyes, and slashed. A sharp pain was followed by a dribble of blood on his forearm. Quickly Gavin put it against Ryan's slack mouth and forced his lips open.

"Come on," he pleaded. "Heal... Please heal... Please, please... and please don't kill me..."

For a terrifying moment nothing happened.

Suddenly Ryan's mouth clamped down on Gavin's arm and the Dryad flinched. Trembling all over and scared out of his mind he forced himself to stay still as he felt the Vampire first lick at the wound, and then bite. Gavin yelped.

He felt his blood seep out of the wound, being sucked out as Ryan's eyes flew open. In the darkness they were bright red and shining like stars.

_*_

The rain was relentless and Jack's hands slipped as he feebly tried to wriggle out of Morana's hold.

They were standing back, away from the battlefield but still close enough to see the bloodbath happen. The Dryads were dropping like flies.

Morana was looking at the battlefield with a wide smile on her lips, unconcerned by what Jack was doing.

"All of this will be ours," she said fondly.

"I don't want it!"

"You're going to want it, don't worry. It's just a matter of perspective. Once the power will be flowing through your veins you're only going to want more of it, and more and more..."

Her claws came around Jack's neck. Her eyes were entirely dark as she looked down at him, pupil blown until they were two endless pits. Jack squirmed uselessly.

"What did you do to Ryan!"

"Killed him."

Jack stilled. The words rang in his head like a bell. Had she really? Was Ryan really dead?

Jack felt anger rise in him, burning like boiling acid. After all the Vampire had sacrificed, that he would die without ever knowing peace made Jack want to rip that fucking Dryad in half.

And as he thrashed uselessly in her grip something lit up in his mind. Something that was suddenly shining in his head and uncoiled like a snake, and started to spread. Trickling along in his veins, little threads of light moving through him.

Morana immediately released him as if she's been burned.

"What are you doing!" she roared.

Jack wasn't sure about that. His skin started glowing again and Morana hissed like a scorned cat. She vanished into thin air, leaving Jack alone.

_*_

Gavin tried to wriggle out of Ryan's grip but it was useless. If he kept pulling like this he was going to break his arm.

"Ryan..." he whimpered.

The Vampire didn't care. His eyes were getting brighter by the second as Gavin felt his strength leave him. He'd screwed up. He was going to force Ryan into killing him. He gave another pull and the Vampire's teeth in his skin tore the flesh a little deeper. He yelped weakly in pain and fear.

As if he'd heard, Ryan blinked and his eyes turned to Gavin. Their color changed instantly ; Gavin saw them soften, and he felt Ryan's mouth slowly release its hold on his arm. He felt the teeth tear themselves out of his flesh and he quickly retracted his arm, holding it close to his chest.

Ryan straightened up. He looked lost and stupefied. "Gavin... did I...?"

Gavin nodded. He saw Ryan open his mouth to say more but he cut him off.

"Ryan, we're losing! They're killing everyone!"

That kicked Ryan's head back in the game. The Vampire looked outside the temporary shelter to see the carnage outside. His tongue licked his bloodstained lips and his eyes flashed.

"You're bleeding," he said curtly, "everyone's gonna smell you. Come on."

Without another word Ryan grabbed him with only one arm and pulled him close to his chest. Gavin laced his arms around his neck and let the Vampire lift him up and out of the shelter, running right at a cluster of Vampires.

Gavin closed his eyes. Ryan was running fast, extremely fast. Faster than before. Gavin felt Vampires trying to reach for him but Ryan fought them all off, and even picked up another wounded Dryad on his way.

It was a matter of mere minutes before Gavin and the other Dryad were pressed against the protective golden dome, and the Elders allowed it to disappear for a fraction of a second for them to crawl inside before closing it back up.

Ryan turned around and ran back to fight.

_*_

Ray, eyes closed and slumped against Geoff's unconscious form, felt Ryan approaching without seeing him, the Vampire's black hole of a mind like a dark spot dancing on his mental map of the battle field. He felt Ryan help Michael, he felt the two of them work as a unit. He tried still to help people around him, to stop Vampires in their tracks with the power of his empathy, a horrible pressure building in his skull with each new trick.

Then he felt something else. Something that was shining, something bright and appeasing that was calling to him. Coaxing his empathy towards it like a benevolent shepherd calling his sheep. Ray's worn-out mind answered the call.

_*_

Jack was staggering in the rain, feet unsteady, mind unsteady, whole body unsteady. He didn't know what was happening to him but it was overwhelming and it was terrifying.

Whatever was shining in his mind was growing and Jack couldn't push it back. It was taking him over, telling him to walk back towards the battle like a parched animal reaching for water.

He wondered why no Vampire had attacked him yet. He should have been an easy target, wobbling along without knowing what the fuck he was doing.

Something knocked at his mind then. Jack shied away from it at first, but he quickly recognized a familiar feeling and rushed back towards it. He let Ray enter his head.

Immediately he felt the empath's consciousness dive for the shining thing and wrap around it like a moth to a flame.

"I think I can help," said Ray's voice inside his head, as loud and clear as if the lad had been standing next to him.

Jack eagerly accepted the help.


	24. Chapter 24

Geoff awoke in the silence. A deep nothingness save for the heavy sound of the rain.

After the noise of the battle, the earsplitting shrieks of the Vampires and the cries of the Dryads, the silence that followed was such a shock that Geoff's muddled thoughts snapped back into focus as if alarmed by the change.

Opening his eyes took so much out of him that he almost closed them back immediately. But he saw legs in front of him, bony legs clad in black, and he recognized them.

"Ray?" he mumbled.

The empath twitched at the sound of his name but didn't move any more than that. Geoff let his eyes travel away from the empath. There were Dryads and there was Michael, Ryan and Jack, all standing with their backs to him. He couldn't see what they were looking at. He had to get up.

Coordination a little off, his limbs flailed sluggishly until thin hands came to catch him.

"Geoff! Are you all right?" asked Gavin, voice laced with fear and concern.

Geoff looked over his shoulder at the young Dryad kneeling behind him. He'd whispered, but his voice had echoed in the silence.

"What's happening?" he asked, eyes snapping around. Dryads everywhere, but no Vampires -at least none standing. A good number of them were dead on the ground.

"She's here, Geoff" said Gavin in a small voice.

Geoff groaned. "Help me up."

"Are you--"

"Just help me up!"

Gavin fumbled to grab him and pull him to his feet. He teetered for a second but found his balance, and could finally see over everyone's shoulders.

Morana was here indeed. Standing a few feet in front of Jack, facing the whole Dryad army with no fear in her eyes, only anger, which seemed to be the only emotion she had left. Geoff finally saw the reason for the silence too : the few Vampires still alive all seemed frozen in time, stopped like statues where they stood.

Geoff approached a Dryad with her crossbow in hand. "Shoot," he whispered.

She feverishly complied, striking down the Vampire closest to her. A second later, more arrows flew out of crossbows and struck the last standing Vampires in the heart. They all fell down without a sound.

Morana's jaw twitched.

"You think you can beat me?" she gritted out.

"We are beating you," said Jack with astonishing confidence for someone who looked a gust of wind away from collapsing.

"You can't even control yourself! All I have to do is click my fingers and you're mine!"

"Then why don't you do it?"

Her lips stretched in what was more a snarl than a smile.

"Are you familiar with the Field, my dear? With what happens to dead Vampires who have been bathed in the rain?"

Geoff saw Ryan tense, Michael looking quickly around him at all the Vampire cadavers. They all stayed dead, at least for now.

"It's all they deserve," spat Morana. "Useless scum. Their flesh is dead but their brain isn't much better. You should have been mine years ago, Jack. They screwed up."

"What?" Jack had his fists tightly closed by his sides, looking like he was going to punch Morana if she kept talking in half-sentences and thin riddles.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I want you to watch, Jack. I want you to see my creatures tear through those pathetic friends of yours, watch their limbs off. I will destroy you until you are mine."

Geoff started when something moved under his foot. He looked down to see a dead Vampire's hand twitch.

"Shit. Shit shit shit... Jack!"

Jack had noticed, so had everyone else. Ryan stepped heavily on one corpse's head, effectively ending its third attempt at life.

Geoff didn't have his sword anymore, he didn't know where it had gone. He saw Miles quickly nock an arrow and shoot at a corpse, and Dryads all around him immediately did the same but they weren't fast enough. Geoff could see some dead Vampires already climbing back to their feet, eyes glassy, mouths open.

The silence shattered. It seemed the battle was going to start again. Morana smiled widely, as if an army of undead Vampires was the best thing she'd ever seen.

Geoff was getting ready to fight bare handed when something hard as rock hit him and swooped him off his feet. His aching head was spinning madly and it took him a second to realize it was only Ryan, who was now carrying him at dizzying speed towards the protective golden dome in the distance.

"What are you doing?!"

"We need the Elders. If they combine their magic with Jack's we'll have a chance. I need you to convince them."

"Is Jack really magic?" Geoff frowned, his sluggish thoughts having trouble catching up. "Actual fucking magic?"

Ryan's eyes, red and shining with a dark light, looked at him.

"Oh boy," he grumbled as they reached the dome, "do we have a story to tell you."

_***_

There weren't many Dryads left standing and with weapons intact.

The few of them ready for round two gathered around Jack, sensing he was a key player in this game. They all stood thin and vulnerable, skin glowing, their eyes a mix of sombre colors, so close together they formed an actual wall. Pulling up their crossbows loaded with arrows they'd ripped out of corpses, their clothes so drenched in mud and blood that the rain was dribbling off of them.

Michael was eternally thankful that whatever magic went into turning Vampires into Demons seemed to be shaky at best and only about half the Vampires were springing back to life. It was still enough to scare the fuck out of him. He could handle Vampires and impeding death but those things were a whole other level of fucked up. They were reeking of death, the smell was so pungent that Michael could taste it.

He was pressed against Jack, ready to ward off anything that might come his way, and wondering where the fuck the rest of the team had gone. Gavin and Ray were somewhere behind the protective Dryad circle but Geoff and Ryan had disappeared. Joe, for his part, was nowhere to be seen.

Michael held his sword up against his chest to avoid accidentally striking a Dryad as they started firing their weapons at the revived horrors that were moaning around them. Jack was warm behind him, hot like a furnace and breathing heavily.

Michael's throat contracted painfully as he saw Dryads being snatched by Demons and dragged away to be ripped in half. He wanted to help, but if he moved then he couldn't defend Jack. What the fuck was he supposed to do here?

He saw Barbara being grabbed by mutilated hands and was about to jump to her help, mind made, when he felt Jack becoming even hotter. Michael looked over his shoulder, scared for a second that the Elemental was just melting.

Jack was still solid but he was glowing softly. An eerie light was pouring from inside him as if his skin was suddenly made of glass. Michael felt his stomach clench. This was not normal, this was not going to end well. Shit. He fucking hated magic.

The light quickly grew brighter and brighter and Jack had his eyes wide open as if he didn't understand what was happening -and really, who the fuck did. Michael was frozen in confusion. Demons were waking up all around them, moaning and groaning and bee-lining to the Dryads who were screaming in terror. And Jack, who had decided to glow even harder just for the hell of it, pushed Michael aside.

Michael felt vaguely offended, at least until he saw the Elemental walk right through the Dryads who were trying to protect him and raise both his hands up to the sky, palms open.

The rain stopped. One, two more droplets fell on top of Michael's head, trickling down a strand of hair, and then nothing more. The sun came back as if someone had lit up a candle, rays of light beaming down and touching Michael's skin. The sensation was astounding. Streams of warmth travelled through his flesh instantaneously. Michael had almost forgotten what sunshine felt like.

The shining rays touched everyone else, making the Dryads' eyes sparkle like clear water, and they touched the Demons. And if Jack hadn't been melting, the Demons certainly were.

As if they were made of pure fire the sunrays turned the creatures into goo. Each of them dissolved into the mud, a horrible smell rising from them that burned Michael's throat and made his eyes water. Dryads who'd been caught and not yet killed quickly ran back towards their peers. Michael could clearly see the nausea on their faces.  
And then there was Jack, fucking shining like a second sun in the middle of a desolate battle field, standing among corpses and feet stuck in the mud. And a few paces away, out of the trees that had not been touched by the rain, Morana stumbled into view.

Her muddy eyes were wide and every step she took seemed painful. She didn't want to walk, her body rigid as a plank. She was trying her hardest to stop and run away from Jack, but it was clearly useless. Whatever the Elemental was doing, he was mind-controlling her and forcing her to walk on.

There was a sound like a tiny bell ringing, and then there was something in the air, something that made Michael shiver uncomfortably. He could just feel it. A current of energy was flowing between Morana and Jack. It felt like a lightning bolt and made Michael's hair stand straight on his arms.

He had to divert his gaze from the blinding light and, looking behind him, he finally understood what was happening. Ray was up on his feet and reluctantly holding hands with the Elders, Gavin hovering anxiously by their side, and they all looked extremely focused on their task. Michael could only guess they were digging into Jack's brain to go get to his weird powers ; they were manipulating his magic to make him take Morana's. Sucking the life out of her so fast that it could be felt by everyone else. And sure enough, when Michael glanced back to her, he saw the tainted Dryad stumble one last time and fall down, inanimate.

But Jack didn't stop glowing. And it took Michael a second but he noticed that Ray wasn't just reluctant to hold the Elders' hands, he was shaking and his arm was twitching, as if he was trying to tear himself away. The current of energy didn't stop. Instead, Michael felt it shift. From Morana to Jack, it snapped around and was now flowing from Jack to the Elders.

The Dryads were all looking at Jack as if they'd found a new God. The Vampires were over. The Demons were dead. Morana had been drained of the magic that allowed her to stay alive. So why weren't the Elders stopping?

Michael felt pure anger grip him. Oh, he knew why the Elders weren't stopping, and he wasn't going to fucking allow it. He pushed starry-eyed Dryads out of his way, making a path through them and towards the three dried plums. He waved angrily, trying to get Gavin's attention, miming that he should break them up.

Gavin nodded. Michael saw him grab Ray's wrist but release it immediately as if he'd been burned.

"I can't!" he squeaked, fearful eyes looking up at Michael, pleading for help. "It hurts!"

Michael swore silently. As he finally reached them, it seemed Jack was shining even brighter than before. It felt like he was going to explode soon.

Michael looked at the Elders, those bastards who had put their own welfare above everyone else's, who'd made sheep of their people and used them as a meat shield, and still found it in themselves to think they were better than Morana. Who were using two people Michael would (and had) kill for as their own personalized weapons, scrambling their brains as if they owned them, and who were now trying to suck the power out of Jack too even though it was clearly going to kill him. Greedy old farts.

Michael lifted his sword. He'd never understood magic anyway but he was pretty sure they could do without it. And if the Elders weren't allowing him to touch them, then they had sealed their own fucking fate.

He struck, one broad stroke with the sharp side of his blade. Without uttering the slightest sound the three Elders fell as one.

He felt the connection disappear, the tension in the air breaking so violently it almost felt physical. Ray jumped away, thankfully landing in Gavin's arms as he was too exhausted to keep himself on his feet. Jack's blinding light decreased so quickly that Michael was scared he had actually exploded. He turned around in time to see him sway and fall to his knees.

He ran to the Elemental, throwing his sword aside as he skidded to his knees next to Jack and pulled him against his chest. He had never been so relieved to feel someone breathing.

_***_

They sat, six of them side by side in the grass.

A safe distance away a giant fire roared under the sun, sending flames high towards the sky. They licked the trees and the grass but Jack had made sure to order it to leave vegetation alone. The air itself was noticeably colder, like a chilly morning in spring. Heat was leaving this world faster than Jack had thought.

Around the fire the Dryads huddled, faces haggard, most of them bloodied. Some were hugging each other. Some of them were crying. The only two nurses they had left were going from one to the other, trying to ease the pains of the wounded. Jack wished he had taken more healing water with him.

None of them had really talked to them. They all knew what Michael had done, and though they didn't seem to be angry at him they were avoiding him carefully,. Michael who was sitting on Jack's right, knees brought up to his chest and chin resting on them, eyes looking at a bunch of tiny yellow flowers next to his feet and deliberately ignoring the fearful glances thrown his way.

Ray was on Michael's other side, his aching head resting on the guard's shoulder, eyes heavy. Gavin was on Jack's left and he was watching the fire with an unwavering stare. His eyes were full of unshed tears. He shivered a little and Geoff, on his other side, scooted closer to offer him more warmth. Finally there was Ryan, who had chosen his place so he was sitting under the shade of a tree with only his feet out in the sunlight.

As Jack looked at them all, one by one, it really hit him that they had survived. All five of them. On top of it, they had somehow managed to keep Jack alive ; they had even fought for him. This ragtag bunch of idiots were remarkable...

"What are you guys going to do?" Ryan asked as he looked at his naked toes painted with sunlight, breaking the heavy silence between them.

"What do you mean?" rasped Gavin.

"Your heat is going to fade away until it's colder here than it has ever been in the Human world. The trees are going to die, the animals, everything. You're never going to survive."

Gavin said nothing. Jack slipped an arm behind his back in silent support.

"Are we sure everything's dead?" asked Gavin.

"I don't know," answered Geoff, glancing at Ray then at Ryan.

"I can't feel anything," said Ray, but he looked so wiped that he probably wouldn't be able to identify a Vampire if it were right in his face.

Ryan shook his head negatively.

"I can't either," said Jack. "I... I somehow can feel a lot more now and I don't think I sense any Vampire. Whatever happened to me, it killed them."

"What did happen to you?" asked Gavin. "What the hell went so wrong with Morana's plan? I still don't understand."

"Apparently this 'make a half-Vampire baby' thing does not work," said Geoff. "Look at Ryan. He was supposed to be a slave and he ended up killing more Vampires in ten minutes that I did in my entire lifetime. I wouldn't even be surprised if Joel had been made the same way..."

"Maybe that's why it's so rare," mused Ray. "Not just because it's hard to do but because the Vampire hybrids are actually impossible to control... good for us."

"Yeah. Add to that some fucked up blood magic, and you've got Jack."

"And add to that some Dryads who went and rummaged around in my brain," added Jack in a whisper.

Michael moved a bit, as if trying to get more comfortable where he was sitting. Jack looked at him, with his eyes still locked on the yellow flowers as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. Was that guilt he saw on the guard's features?

"Thank you, Michael," Jack said sincerely. "I'm pretty sure I would have been fried if you hadn't killed them. They were making whatever powers I have run so fast and so intensely... It felt like burning from the inside. Just... thank you."

Michael didn't look at him, but Jack felt him lean a little more heavily against him.

Miles was hobbling towards them, one of his legs having been bitten into. The bandage around it was heavily stained with red but he didn't pay it any mind.

"Final count," he said, "two hundred and twenty four of us left alive."

"Out of a thousand," said Gavin. His voice was emotionless, his eyes staring blankly ahead.

"Yeah. One thousand and five," said Miles softly. "We found Joe's body, too... I'm sorry."

He marked a pause, allowing the six guys to take the news. Jack felt like he would be crying if he had any energy left in him. Joe had thrown himself into the battle without any restraints, without thinking about his own safety. Jack vowed to give him the funerals he deserved.

"I don't know what's going to happen to us now," continued Miles. He was shaking, his bad leg hanging limply under him.

"Miles you're bleeding like a stuck pig," said Ryan a bit harshly, lips tight and eyes flashing, "you should go back."

"Oh... yeah," said Miles, suddenly afraid. "Huh, I'm going."

"Are you going to jump on him?" asked Jack as the wounded Dryad hobbled back towards the fire.

"No. I was trying to scare him into getting his leg looked at and healed. He's been walking around for too long, he's going to collapse eventually if he keeps that up."

"You can really ignore all that Dryad blood?" asked Jack curiously.

Ryan nodded slowly. "As odd as it is... yes..."

"I don't think that's odd," said Gavin. "You've proven over and over again that you're able to overcome your instincts. You bloody stopped yourself when you were feeding on me..."

"Heh. Bloody," laughed Ray tiredly, then he stopped himself and frowned. "I can feel you all groan inwardly, you know."

Geoff reached to pat Ryan on the shoulder. "Gavin's right. You should stop being so damned afraid of yourself. You're doing just fine."

Ryan hmmm'ed. He lay down on the ground, arms crossed behind his head and eyes uselessly closed.

"And what are you going to do?" he asked.

"Who?"

"Those of you who don't have shining eyes. Back to the Human world?"

"Well. Yes," said Jack. "I don't know if I still have a claim to the word 'human', but I don't have anywhere else..."

"Shut the fuck up," snapped Geoff. "You've got awesome powers and you'll learn how to use them easily."

"But I'm really not Human, in the strictest sense... And I can't--"

"Shsh, you can't nothing. Don't give me all that self-deprecating crap."

"You stopped all the Vampires!" said Gavin. "Froze them all! That was bloody amazing."

"Ray told me how to do it."

"But it was you who did it," said Ray. "I could never do it like that."

"Human or not, you're probably powerful enough to burn someone just by thinking about it hard enough," said Geoff. "Morana herself didn't dare attack you directly in the end. I'm pretty sure you can declare yourself to be a fucking giraffe and nobody will have the balls to contradict you."

"Being Human isn't that great anyway," said Ray. "Sorry," he added as all the heads turned to him, "that was Michael's input."

Michael nodded silently, and then, on second thought, hit Ray's shoulder.

"Ow! Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Try being a little more introverted if you don't want me to know. I'm too fucking tired to keep track of my mind..."

"You're going to be Official Michael Translator," said Gavin with the ghost of a laugh in his voice.

"And you, Ryan? You keep asking us but you haven't said anything. What do you plan on doing?"

Ryan didn't answer. They let him be.

Geoff lay down too, crossing his arms behind his head and closing his eyes with a heavy sigh. Michael shrugged and did the same, bringing Ray down with him. Gavin and Jack exchanged a glance and Jack gave him a mirthless smile, and joined the others in the lush grass. He closed his eyes and listened to the four men around him falling asleep before following suit as Ryan started humming a song under his breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyooo so there are a few chapters left now, but I have finished writing them. I'm not posting it all now because I still need to polish them and make them all pretty, but it means the updates will be a lot faster now. Hooray?


	25. Chapter 25

It took a week for Ray's mind to be something else than a gaping wound he was unable to close. 

He had used it so much, pushed it so much that it ended up jammed open. That was the explanation he gave to the others when they asked him why he started shying away from them. 

"I just don't want to accidentally mess with you. I'll be fine, it's getting better..."

They nodded and went away, glancing worriedly at him from time to time. They had a lot of work to do. 

The Dryads could finally live aboveground again but their villages were reduced to dust. They had to build everything anew, and there were so few of them left that it looked like a daunting task. Not every one of the two hundred survivors could help, either. Many were wounded and some were in shock and barely able to move. Ray had only seen them from afar, taking great care to avoid them, but he could still feel the terror that grasped those poor souls and refused to let go. 

In fact he felt everyone's terror. He hadn't told the guys about it but he didn't isolate himself just for their benefit, but for his too. Headaches assaulted him and emotions kept flooding him, worse than they had before he met Gavin and learned how to protect himself.

The very first night after the battle, Ray's bed was a patch of grass away from everyone else. He fell asleep so fast he never heard the rest of the guys coming to lie down around him, apparently thinking he would feel lonely. He bolted awake after what felt like mere seconds, disorientated and panicking, mind in turmoil. 

The source of his problem was quickly localized -Geoff was sitting up next to him, eyes wide open but dark with exhaustion.

Trying to clear it of everything that was flying through, Ray shook his head until it made him dizzy. 

"Can't sleep?" he whispered. 

Geoff simply nodded, trying to rub the fatigue out of his eyes. 

Ray tried his best to find something comforting to say but the Elemental had gone down some dark road, reminiscing the battle, the Field, and everything that had happened and it was just too much. Ray could only mutter a pathetic "I'm so sorry" and run away, finding somewhere else to go back to sleep. A feeling of guilt followed his steps and made him cringe. He hated making Geoff feel bad but he couldn't bear it. Strong emotions pierced his head through and through. 

He woke up the next morning with Ryan sitting by his side. His Vampire mind, naturally immune to empathy, still only let a few things filter through. It was refreshing to have someone keeping some emotions to themselves. 

"Hey," he said blearily. 

"Hey," answered Ryan. "I wanted to tell you, I buried the dead last night. Dryads are probably going to hold funerals. You might wanna go away for that."

"You what?" said Ray, sitting up. "You buried everyone? Alone?"

"I can't ask these people to bury their own," said Ryan matter-of-factly. "Just wanted to warn you. Feel better, Ray. We need you to make sense of Michael's gesticulations."

Ray laughed -and that felt so fucking good. He watched the Vampire walk to Geoff with interest. 

Negative feelings weren't the only things he could sense. He was used to strong emotions smothering the more minute ones, but with his mind now as wide open as it was, that wasn't the case anymore. Ray was feeling a whole array of things he'd never really noticed before. 

He'd always known Geoff was caring under his aloof and stand-offish demeanor, but just how deep that care ran was quite a shock to Ray. The earth Elemental was not entirely selfless but if he thought you were under his protection, then he *was* going to protect you until he ran out of breath. He had taken the whole Dryad community under his wing but now the battle was over and the people were trying to get their life back together, Geoff mostly left them to it. On the other hand, Gavin and Michael, and Jack and Ray himself, were still present in his mind. 

As for Ryan, it wasn't really protectiveness that Geoff felt ; it was more a sort of pride that made Ray want to smile. And when Ryan told Geoff how he had spent his night, that pride seemed to reach new heights that made Ray's mind do a somersault. It was such a strong positive emotion that it dwarfed the negatives for a moment.

Jack also worried about everyone, but in a much more electrifying way. He also worried about himself a lot. Ray hated feeling the fire Elemental's confusion. He knew his empathy could help Jack get a hold of his powers and reassure him, but right now Ray's mind was about as useful as a dying earthworm. So he stayed away.

He also kept sensing how Gavin's energy seemed to grow whenever he was around one of the others, and how Michael didn't need to talk for the Dryad to understand him, which made the guard feel slightly better about his forced mutism. 

And Ray was extremely grateful for Ryan's opaque mind but he still got wind of the Vampire's affection for them, and though it felt different than how it did on humans or Dryads it was still comforting. Everything felt more secure when Ryan was around, which was possibly the weirdest thing. A Vampire and a guy who had lied to them for half the time they'd known him... but now Ray knew for certain there wasn't a trace of cruelty hiding inside him. Only some pent-up anger -and really that was understandable. 

The night of the funerals Ray ran even farther away from everyone else. Dusk was falling above his head as the forest fell mostly silent. It seemed even wild animals had noticed the heavy atmosphere and had chosen to be quiet. 

Ray stopped when the intense feelings of grief following him finally started to diminish. He wasn't sure where he was. This stupid forest was only made of oak trees, they all looked the same. How the hell could Dryads ever know where they were? He sighed and sat down, dispirited. He could find his way back anyway, all he had to do was follow the fucking trail of horrible, heart-wrenching feelings coming off the Dryads. He was too far to feel any of the good things anymore.

He fell asleep despite himself. He could have sworn he'd seen Ryan's red eyes shining between the trees before his body gave in to the fatigue.

By the fourth day of forced isolation, Ray thought he was going to go completely crazy. He was just close enough to see everyone, but too far to participate in anything, and his own inactivity at such a time of need was weighing on his heart. He focused on Gavin, who somehow managed to get a splinter, and Michael, who hit him over the head with that very same plank of wood he'd gotten the splinter from. Michael's particular brand of frustrated affection and Gavin's apparent resilience in the face of so much desolation and pain was all Ray needed at that moment to lift his spirits. 

Geoff had started talking in earnest with pretty much every Dryad he could find and Ray burned to know what that was about. It was pretty clear a plan was in the making, a way to keep the Dryads safe from the impending cold, but all Ray could feel was anticipation and a sense of duty coming out of Geoff. He had no idea what he was trying to do. The Dryads' respect towards him was usually partially muted by a pang of fear, but they listened to him nonetheless. 

By the sixth day, Ray finally found some control back as his headaches faded away. He turned his mind away from the grief and buried himself in the happier feelings running underneath his five companions' skin, clinging to them like a drowning man. Gavin had gone hunting with Ryan and come back with enough food for everyone and was shining with happiness ; Ray caught that feeling and, that night, he fell asleep surrounded by its warmth.

He woke up with a scream dying on his lips, flailing against imaginary enemies. 

"Ray! Shhh..."

Ray jumped as he felt Gavin's hand on his shoulder. He was sitting by his side, his knees up to his chest. The fire the Dryads had lit up for the night was crackling in the distance, throwing a tremulous light that was making Gavin's tanned skin look whiter than the moon. 

He wasn't alone, the four others were there too, curled up around each other in their sleep like pack animals. They'd come to Ray once more as he'd slept. 

"Gavin... what... was it you?" asked Ray in a shaking voice. 

Gavin's sparkling eyes were clouded as he nodded shortly. 

"I had a nightmare..."

Ray took a deep breath to calm his heartbeat. He tried to stand, muttering some apology, but Gavin's thin hand closed around his own and tugged him back down. 

"I'm the one who's sorry," he said. "I thought you were feeling better so I told the guys we could come keep you warm."

"I thought you were the one who needed warmth."

"Well... they can keep the both of us warm. I mean, Ryan's kind of cold..."

"But my heart is warm," quipped the Vampire from where he was lying in the grass, obviously not asleep. 

Ray chuckled, his thumb tapping against Gavin's hand. He did feel better. He could bear Gavin's presence. It was just the nightmare, it had thrown him for a loop... 

"What were you dreaming about?" he asked quietly. 

"Just... things," said Gavin evasively, his eyes looking at the grass as if he were talking to it. Ray could feel him pushing all his negative emotions away, trying to smother them and forget about them.

"Ray, do you think Jack will be all right?" he asked timidly.

Ryan butted in again. "He'll be all right."

"How do you know?"

"Because Jack's stronger than I am, and if I can overcome some magic spell then Jack is probably able to bend all the magic in the world to his will. Don't forget he kept himself alive through sheer force of will when he was losing all his blood. He'll be fine."

Gavin considered this for a minute. "Hmm... I think it was more 'sheer force of not wanting Geoff to go down the same dark hole he went when Joel died, and get himself killed doing something stupid'."

"Yeah... sounds about right," agreed Ryan.

"I just really hope Geoff's plan is going to work..."

Ray perked up. "What's Geoff's plan?"

"Oh that's right, you didn't hear..."

Gavin told him everything.

* * *

 

Everything was so dull and colorless. 

The grass was a dark green, the sky was grey. The wind was cold. After two months spent in the Dryad world, including three weeks after the battle when the forest had been calm and sparkling, the human world just looked like shit. Now Geoff really understood what Gavin had meant when he'd said their world was too constraining ; he suddenly felt like he weighed twenty pounds more than before, and so did his mind.

Judging by the scowl on his face Michael felt the same way. He still couldn't talk but they were hoping a water Elemental could help with this. He was only ever able to communicate through mime or through Ray's mouth, and since the empath had finally gotten a hold of his bruised mind Michael could make himself heard more often. But this lack of control over his words was wearing him off, and though he wouldn't admit it Geoff missed talking to him. They hadn't been able to talk to one another in so long, Michael's voice having been severed before he'd even forgiven Geoff for his cowardice. In fact, Geoff hadn't ever heard him say he was forgiven. He just didn't know and didn't dare raise the subject as long as Michael was voiceless.

Ryan, covered from head to toes in normal clothes and with proper shoes on his feet, didn't look like he was bothered by anything at all. Maybe Vampires didn't even feel gravity. Geoff would't put it past those weird fuckers.

Jack didn't look much happier, Gavin had stopped glowing. Geoff was surprised by how much this fact disturbed him -he'd gotten so used to the Dryad's skin always emitting some kind of light, seeing it still as this made Gavin look like he was ill... And finally, Ray was receiving all this gloom and wasn't faring much better. The journey back home wasn't feeling very homely.

Emboldened by his human-looking clothes, Ryan thought he could run to the nearest town and get some horses for them without causing any panic, but Geoff declined. He had a feeling this would not end well. So they walked, and walked, and walked some more, with tired feet and heavy shoulders, and Geoff was grateful he'd come to be appreciate the five people he was walking with. At least, seeing Gavin being smacked over the head by someone for saying something stupid every few minutes was entertaining. Geoff was careful to keep an eye on him.

When they reached the Field, Jack did some magic shit which he'd practiced with Ray for long hours, the empath digging into his brain to find out how he could control his powers, and the disgusting rain stopped. Though the sky above stayed grey and heavy with the promise of a thunderstorm in the near future, it was a natural sort of grey. If you looked hard enough you could even see the sun hiding behind the clouds.

Geoff took a second, stopping to watch the barren land splayed out before him. Images of the day his mother had been killed were flashing as he watched the mud under his feet regurgitating water like it had blood. But the rain had stopped now, and Morana was dead. A whole chapter of the war, an open wound that had festered for years, and it was over in seconds thanks to Jack.

"Can I touch?"

Geoff started out of his thoughts at Gavin's voice. 

"What?"

"Your tattoos. Can I?"

Geoff frowned. "Why do you want that?"

"Just... To see, I guess. See what my people refusing to fight with the Humans for so long did to you."

For a moment Geoff didn't move, eyes boring into Gavin as if they could pierce his skull. The Dryad, uncomfortable, started turning away, but Geoff spread one of his arm out. 

"Have fun."

Gavin's fingers were tentative, their touch feather-light on Geoff's skin as if he was scared to hurt him. They traced the patterns with so much respect and reverance, feeling the ugly skin hidden under the ink. 

"Must have hurt..." he mumbled sadly. Geoff shrugged.

"I don't remember the pain. I don't remember much at all... only snippets."

"Michael thinks it's better that way," said Ray quietly.

"Yeah. Guess it is."

And now it was over.

They spent the first night here, just outside the Field. Jack made a fire around which they scuttled, all of them except Ryan who, eyes shining red, was looking far in the distance at some thing only he could see -though Gavin tried very hard, squinting at the dark horizon as if he could will himself into getting a Vampire's eyesight.

"What are you looking at?"

"Things," said Ryan. 

"Great. What things?"

Ryan's clawed hand fell onto Gavin's head and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it."

"I hate you," groaned Gavin, pushing the Vampire away.

"Geoff?" called Jack out of the blue. "Do you know what you're going to say?" 

Ah, there was the conversation Geoff had been expecting for a few days now. He didn't want to have it but, knowing Jack, it was due sooner or later. Jack did not like to leave holes, and if the plan they had devised to ensure the safety of the Dryad people was anything, it was full of holes.

"I already told you I didn't," said Geoff calmly.

"I thought you would have thought of something."

"No," said Geoff honestly.

"You don't want to practice your speech? Go over what you're going to do exactly once we're back in town?"

"No."

"Hmmm...."

"Hey, I've never practiced my speeches before and it has always turned out all right." 

"You've made two speeches in your entire life. At Dryads."

"And it worked."

"You're going to talk to your grandfather, Geoff. I think he's going to be a little more difficult to convince. If you really want to take power off the current General of the Elemental Army, you should be ready."

Geoff snorted. He'd spent a month in a Vampire-infested forest. His grandfather didn't scare him in the slightest.

Michael made some gestures with his hands that Geoff pretended to understand, nodding soberly, but the guard wasn't fooled. The next hand-gesture he did was a lot easier to understand. Gavin shook his head disapprovingly and took Michael's hand in his own, folding his middle finger back down.

"Don't be rude," he scolded. Michael immediately lifted his other hand and repeated the same gesture, this time at Gavin.

"Geoff?" asked Jack again. He wasn't going to give up.

Geoff sighed.

"It'll be fine. My grandfather is just a diminished old earth Elemental who thinks he has more power than he does."

There was a soft smile dancing on Jack's lips. "Your ability to be both a perfectionist and a lazy bastard at the same time is incredible. You spent hours talking to the Dryads to be sure of what they wanted but you refuse to do any more than that."

"Yep. Don't worry, if shit goes down I'll make sure you guys are safe and Gavin is secured. Ryan will make sure of it too, won't you Ryan?"

"Hmm," said Ryan distractedly.

"... Are you agreeing or are you telling me to go fuck myself? Ryan? What are you looking at?"

"Demons."

Geoff and Michael sprung to their feet almost as if they had been electrified, hands flying to their swords, as Ray grabbed Gavin's arm with a white-knuckled grip.

"What? What the fuck, Ryan!"

"It's all right, there's only two of them."

"That's so far beyond all right it's flying over an ocean of 'fuck no'! Why didn't you tell us?"

"They're not approaching... yet."

"No, no! Wait!" squeaked Gavin. "Jack got rid of the rain!"

"So? Once a Demon's made it's made, it doesn't just die when the rain stops. It's not surprising that there's still a few roaming around... I hope they're the last two." 

"What do we do?" asked Ray. 

"I'll take care of them."

"No," said Jack firmly, "I am. You all stay here and make sure Gavin and Ray are protected."

"What?"

"I'm not that helpless," protested Ray, but Geoff paid him no attention. That idiot was powerful but the last time he'd used his powers he had turned his brain into mashed potatoes. Gavin, for his part, stayed silent, still and scared, and it made Geoff want to carry him somewhere safer.

"Jack you can't just go and--"

"I think I can," interrupted Jack. "You guys can't risk it, but I can. I'll just go over there, do a magic trick, and good-bye Demons."

"Yeah. Said like that it sounds easy, but--"

"Geoff. I can do it."

Geoff's instinct was to keep arguing, even pushing Jack back down if need be. He couldn't let him just wander off on his own... or could he? Geoff thinned his lips in thought. Jack looked determined, if a bit shaky. His hands had already started to shine softly as he gathered his powers. Jack wasn't the sort to do something inconsiderate. If he said he could do it, then...

"Fine," Geoff reluctantly agreed. "Just... do your thing and come back in one piece."

"Will do."

Jack turned towards where Ryan had set his gaze. He paused for a moment to take a deep breath, getting in the right mindset, or whatever it was he did before magic-ing. Geoff watched him walk away with stiff but decided steps until the dark of the night swallowed him.

"Ryan?"

"Yes, I see him, and yes, I'm watching him."

"Don't lose him."

"Nope. But I don't think you'll need me."

"What do you me--"

Geoff couldn't finish his sentence before what Ryan meant was made expressively clear. A strong golden light flashed in the distance, at the edge of the forest they had just left. It was brief but bright enough to force everyone's eyes away. 

"What's he doing?" asked Ray as the glow faded.

"It's over. He took care of the Demons."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Awesome," breathed Gavin, and Geoff could only agree.

Jack was back a minute later looking quite pleased with his performance. He was carrying with him a rainbow-colored flower. 

"I found this!" he said happily. "It's good for Michael's throat. Can we get some water boiling?"

They stayed awake a little longer, talking about this and that and nothing in particular, Michael sipping on his fresh tea. 

With a little luck, they would reach the Elemental village in two days. Geoff had not lied when he said he wasn't scared ; if these people were with him, he was pretty sure they could do anything they wanted.

As long as they kept an eye on Gavin.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this chapter : politics and sentiments.

Gavin knew the others thought him useless. 

And... well, that wasn't entirely untrue. He had no fighting skills, no skills of any sort really. He had lived the first twenty-odd years of his life drifting through the Old Oak Forest without a care, thinking all the Vampires safely imprisoned and that their Elders would protect them from harm. He had been a naive little twerp and he couldn't blame the guys for thinking him stupid and incompetent.

But if there was one thing he was not, it was unworthy of trust. He wasn't the most steadfast bloke on either earths but he thought he'd proven his loyalty and devotions over the last couple of months, as well as the fact that he was agile and not likely to just drop dead at the first occasion.

Still, since the end of the battle, it seemed his five companions constantly watched him as if he were a toddler. It had started with Geoff and spread to the others. 

He appreciated their worry to keep him warm, but not so much how Michael trailed him like a guard dog, or how Ray's mind kept knocking at his to see if he was okay, or how Ryan surreptitiously walked closer to him every day. How Jack scolded him like an angry mother when he did nothing worse than stumble on something or how Geoff willingly waited for him if he fell behind. They didn't use to featherbed him like this. Something was off. And it was only getting worse as they approached the Elemental village.

Gavin had never taken the time to understand human politics but he knew Geoff was someone important. None of them were expecting a warm welcome when the Chief's grandson would waltz back into town after disappearing for two months, flanked by weird-looking dudes. They had not, however, expected to find themselves surrounded by what looked like half the Elementals' army the moment they stepped out of Joel's forest. 

Ray and Ryan noticed their presence before they saw anyone, allowing Ryan and Gavin to pull their hoods on and Geoff to put himself at the front of their little procession. 

Mounted on horses, most of them with their sword in their hands, the soldiers towered menacingly above them in their metal armour as dozens of hooves thundered on the ground, circling the six men until none could escape. Gavin made the mistake of looking up a little too far and the sun touched his eyes at the right angle to make them scintillate. 

Everyone noticed, and everyone stared. Gavin felt Ryan tense like a wild animal caught in a trap. Geoff squeezed the Vampire's wrist briefly, reassuringly. Michael had moved himself in front of Gavin and Jack in his back, sandwiching him protectively.

"Geoffrey," said one of the soldiers in a coldly polite voice. 

"Hi." 

"I'm not sure I want to know what you've been doing those past few months..." The soldier's eyes snapped to Gavin and Ryan who, even hidden under a hood was exuding some weird aura. "Nonetheless," he added in a tone that implied he regretted this, "we have been ordered to bring you back home if we find you."

"I'm guessing my grandfather has authorized you to use force."

"He has. Do we have to?"

Geoff shrugged. "As long as you don't, we won't. We don't want any trouble. We just want to talk with good old grandpa."

"'We'?" repeated the soldier, eyeing Gavin. "I don't think the fairy will be accompanying you."

"And I don't think you get to tell me who does or doesn't come with me," said Geoff as he stepped in front of Gavin, hiding him from view. "I swear if you mistreat a single one of my companion before we reach the village, I will be very, very angry with you."

"You're outnumbered, Geoffrey. Don't try anything suspicious."

"I'll try whatever the fuck I wanna try."

The soldier squinted at Geoff, obviously thinking he was nothing but an annoying pain in his armored backside. 

"Get them all," he ordered his men. "Treat them gently, I'm not in the mood to kill."

The smile Geoff sent the guy was so contemptuous it would have made a weaker person cry.

Gavin was grabbed by the collar and heaved onto a horse's back, trapped against the chest of a soldier. Once everyone else was similarly seated, they took off. 

It was the first time in his life Gavin was actually riding a horse, and it was bloody terrifying. The animal was going far too fast to Gavin's liking. He let out a little squeak with it jumped over a log and immediately felt Ray's mind tap at his. He sent back as much frustration as he could and Ray backed off.

The first time he'd seen it, the Elementals village had been dormant, almost eerie in its silence. Now, as it appeared down the hills, it was bursting with life. People were everywhere in the streets, Gavin even saw Elementals teaching their son how to make a rose grow by the side of the road. But everyone quickly ran away when the horses galloped through. 

They were lead to Geoff's big house, now bustling with important-looking people going about probably equally important business. The soldier behind Gavin made the horse come to a stop, dismounted and grabbed him by the waist to pull him down without caring whether he was hurting him or not. Gavin's agility allowed him to land on both feet but it was a close call. 

Their hands were bound with ropes and they were pushed inside without much ceremony, surrounded by ten soldiers who lead them through the corridors. 

The office of the Elemental's Chief was so bare that for a moment Gavin wondered if that was really it. A large desk, shelves yielding under the weight of enormous books, and chairs which looked ready to break ; nothing else. A very sober room for the very sober man who had stood as soon as his door had opened. Small and reduced by age, but with a fire burning behind his eyes that was everything but warm and reassuring. As soon as those eyes fell on him Gavin started thinking he'd made the wrong choice and he should run back home right now.

But the man glossed over him, barely paying attention to anyone else but Geoff. 

"Where the everloving hell were you?" he roared in lieu of a greeting. "We looked everywhere for you. We told the King! We thought you had been kidnapped! And King Gus told us about this..." the man made a disgusted face, "this Dryad. This--"

"Stop."

The old man's voice caught in his throat with a strangle little sound. A blink of stunned silence passed. Gavin glanced at Geoff. He had clearly reached some kind of threshold for tolerance as he went on,

"I've seen some horrible stuff but everything that comes out of your mouth still manages to be the worst thing that's ever happened to me. Yes, I was with the Dryads. And while I was there, I fought Vampires, with only a few people to help. I trained the souls you and the King have decided to abandon. And we fucking won, and now we're back because we have a few things to discuss. So if you could get those ropes off of me and stop fucking going on about your irrational hate towards a people who are as docile as newborn lambs?"

His grandfather leaned menacingly over the desk. "You are not getting out of those ropes for a very, very long time, Geoffrey. Better get used to them."

"Really? In that case... Ryan, could you help me out here?"

A smirk creased Ryan's half-hidden face. In a flash he was out of his ropes and had jumped over to Geoff, his hood falling off in the motion. His eyes flashed red and he curled his lips, revealing his fangs. 

For a second there was only panic. The soldiers in the room nearly impaled themselves on their own weapons as they scrambled to get them, shouting "VAMPIRE!!" at the top of their lungs. Gavin felt bad for them, dropping a Vampire on them without warnings would make anyone lose their head. 

It was only when Gavin and Michael got pushed and pulled by the soldiers that Geoff decided to do something before they all died stupidly. With a silent command he asked Ryan to retreat calmly behind him, effectively acting as a shield against any soldier who would try to get Geoff. 

"Everyone, calm down!" Geoff bellowed over the cries. "Everything's fine. He's with me."

That didn't seem to reassure anyone at all -Geoff mustn't have a good reputation around here- but at least the soldiers stopped screaming.

"I'm not here to hurt anyone," continued Geoff calmly. "I just want to talk."

"You have lost your mind," came the tremulous voice of Geoff's grandfather. He had shrunk back behind his desk in fear. "First you betray your own mother and fail to protect her, then you show your cowardice by running away, and now you allied yourself with Dryads and abominations..."

"I also have a friend who does magic," said Geoff brightly and in a purposefully annoying voice, pointing at Jack who waved sheepishly with a glowing hand. "Remember Jack? He's half-Dryad, half-Vampire, and can make this whole building fall down with a click of his fingers. Ray's an empath, too! And I met some very tall animals..."

The grandfather straightened himself up. Anger was making him forget about his momentary fear.

"Your mother--"

"My mother," cut in Geoff, "was someone who thought Dryads were treated unfairly. So for once in your life maybe you can honor her memory and listen to me. If you keep being a stubborn ass you're not fit to lead this town. I've seen enough shitty chiefs leading their people to destruction for a lifetime, I won't allow you to do it to me and my friends."

That finally did the trick. The old man's jaw clasped shut with an audible click of his teeth, and when Geoff took a deep breath and started talking again, he listened. 

He listened to the whole story. From start to finish, without uttering another word, even though he was obviously dying to from time to time. But he stayed quiet ; his eyes kept darting to Ryan and Jack, fearing their reaction. 

When Geoff finished, all the old man said was "I need to talk to you, in private."

"You can have me and Jack," said Geoff. "I don't do solo missions."

"Fine."

_***_

"That is tricky..."

Michael eyed the water Elemental who was walking around him like she was trying to decide whether to buy him or not. 

Ray was leaning against a wall behind him, watching calmly. Geoff and Jack had gone somewhere to talk some more with that crazy old dude, Gavin had been offered a room and asked not to leave it, and Ryan had volunteered to be the Dryad's bodyguard in case anyone wanted to try something. 

The animosity emanating from all the Elementals towards the Dryad was uncomfortable, to say the least. The same sort of hatred had filled the room the day Gavin had come to ask the King for help, everyone wishing they could get their hands on him and twist his neck. It made Michael want to scream. If only he could. 

The animosity towards Ray wasn't much better, now that Geoff had told everyone he was an empath. But Ray seemed mostly okay with it. To Michael, it drove home the point that Ray was simply used to being the target of so much hatred. Michael kind of felt like an asshole for how badly he'd treated the guy when they'd first met... He'd allowed stubbornness and prejudice (and maybe a bit of jealousy) cloud his judgement.

Meanwhile, the healer looked at his eyes, at his ears, at his nose. Michael seethed silently.

"Shouldn't you focus on his throat?" asked Ray.

The healer bristled. "I know what I am doing, young man. You, mister," she said, pointing at Michael, "have had your vocal cords damaged."

"You don't say," mumbled Ray, which earned him a short 'shut up!' from the healer but made Michael smile. 

She took a small vial of plain water from her satchel and opened it. 

"I can't know if the damage is accessible by the water. I'm giving you something to drink, if it works you should get your voice back very quickly. If not, it means we will have to open your throat surgically to get to the damage."

"What?" yelped Ray, voicing Michael's thoughts exactly.

"Water can only heal what it can touch," said the healer sensibly.

She poured the vial into a glass and, with a single finger, touched the surface. Immediately the water started sparkling like diamonds. She handed it to Michael, who took it carefully and hoped to everything that it would work.

_***_

Gavin was pacing, and he was angry.

Why had they locked him up here? Why not take him with them? Why the bloody hell did they insist on excluding him from everything? Did they really trust him that little? 

He hated the Human world, he felt lost and cold outside of the Old Oak Forest. But he'd hoped the guys would be here to reassure him... It seemed they weren't. Gavin let himself fall face first onto one of the four beds in this room. 

For a moment he forgot about his anger. This mattress was so soft and so warm... He could feel his whole body relax, his muscles letting go. He was melting.

The door opened wide and he nearly jumped a foot in the air with a yelp, landing on the hard floor. 

"Oh... sorry," said Geoff as he closed the door behind him. "I didn't think you'd be sleeping."

"I wasn't," said Gavin, quickly standing back up. "Where's Jack?"

"Gone to see where Michael and Ray are, I couldn't find them."

Geoff stretched voluptuously and yawned. 

"I'm so fucking tired..."

"What did your grandfather say?" asked Gavin quietly. 

"Things and shit," mumbled Geoff. "Boring political shit. I'm not cut out for this fucking job..."

"Yeah but what did he say?"

"I'll tell you later."

Gavin gritted his teeth but said nothing. Geoff looked around the room. 

"I thought Ryan was with you?"

"He went out a minute ago."

"What? Where did he go?!"

Gavin shrugged. "Dunno."

"I told him to look after you! What the fuck does he think he's doing?"

"I'm fine," said Gavin, seeing Geoff getting agitated. "I'm obviously doing fine!"

"No, you're not! I'm going to find that idiot Vampire and tell him--"

"Geoffrey!"

Geoff stopped gesticulating. He slowly turned towards Gavin.

"Don't call me that."

Gavin hated the way his eyes automatically dropped to the floor and heat crept up his cheeks. He was as spineless as the rest of his species, unable to stand up for himself. But he had to get everything off his chest before he went crazy.

"Just... just stop it."

"Stop... what?"

It took an incredible effort to raise his eyes back up. He met Geoff's confused gaze. Did he really not realise?

"You... You -and the others- are just pushing me away!" Gavin's voice took a squeaky quality that made him want to slap himself. "You won't tell me anything unless I ask for it forcefully, you keep putting me behind a wall! I can't move without you knowing about it, I can't say anything without being put back in my place and... and... I just thought you trusted me more than that," finished Gavin. His eyes had gone back down and were now staring at his naked feet sinking into a thick carpet, his cheeks were on fire and he had to clasp his hands to stop them from trembling. 

As a silence stretched he started regretting his angry tirade... was Geoff going to throw him out now? He could have endured the silent treatment, he would have been fine. Why did he open his bloody stupid mouth? 

He flinched when Geoff's voice rose again, fearing what was going to come out of it. But it wasn't what he'd expected.

"You're such a fucking drama queen."

Gavin looked timidly back up. 

"I thought -and I'm guessing the others do too," said Geoff, "that you might be feeling hopeless. I assumed you would be panicking at the thought that this plan wasn't going to work and you were going to be imprisoned and your people left to die. You've just gone through your species almost dying out only to go see Humans who are this close," Geoff brought his index and thumb close together, "to hanging you for treason. So I was nice with you and tried to make your life a tiny bit easier and avoided talking about things that would upset you until I was sure of what I was doing. Go fucking cry about it!"

Gavin stared with round eyes. 

"I..." He cleared his throat. "I'm not upset."

"Really? You look like you're going to throw yourself on the floor and cry."

"No!" said Gavin. "I... I thought you didn't... like me anymore," he mumbled pitifully.

"Like you?" repeated Geoff, laughing. "You think I'd be trying to protect you if I didn't like you?"

"... it just looked like you didn't trust me..."

"Gav. I just saw you take on an entire army of Vampire, I think I can trust you with stupid Humans. It's the Humans I can't trust... I was honestly just trying to make your life easier and take away some of your worries, I thought you had enough of those. I'm huh, sorry I went about it badly, I didn't mean to baby you. I might have gone a tad overboard. But if that's really what you want, fine, I'll tell you : my grandfather is mostly okay with leaving me in charge."

Gavin perked up. "Really?"

"I you want my opinion he's happy to do so. He hates me but he doesn't want to deal with King Gus' anger when he'll find out what I've done. That means I'm the Chief now... and I still need to work out some kinks in our plan, but once that's done you will have to go back to your freaky forest... without the rest of us."

"I know," said Gavin quietly.

"I'll start working tomorrow," said Geoff at length, "you can come with me I guess. Just -and I'm not trying to coddle you here, it's just basic common sense- don't stray too far away from us whenever we're out among the Humans, all right? There are some rotten souls out there and I'd hate for you to disappear on me only to find your body hanging from a tree days later. And, try not to be too disappointed when you'll see just how bad I am at politics."

"I think you're top at politics."

"You're mistaken... What the fuck's happening?"

They turned to the door as they heard a commotion outside, someone running heavily and someone else squeaking. 

"Touch me again and you die." Ryan's grumbling voice rolled like thunder through the walls. 

"Oh shit," mumbled Geoff, jumping for the door. Gavin followed hastily.

Ryan was in a stalemate with a soldier who seemed to be wetting his pants. 

"Ryan!" barked Geoff. "Be nice to my people!"

"I am being nice! They aren't!"

"Just... come in here and shut up."

Ryan executed the order, though reluctantly and throwing a red-shifted glance at the Elemental as they passed each other. 

"What happened?" asked Gavin. 

"Someone was listening to the door, I chased them away. Then this guy came and started poking me with his sword for no reason!"

"It's going to take time for people to get used to you," pointed out Geoff, "you can't exactly be angry at them for that."

"I'm not angry," said Ryan petulantly, "I just don't like having pointy things shoved under my nose."

"Well, bear with it!" said Geoff, exasperated. "I have enough things to deal with at the moment, don't start fights where they can be avoided!"

For a moment Ryan looked like he was going to argue, opening his mouth to retort something, but he changed his mind. He closed his mouth with a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. "I'm not used to seeing Humans everywhere either, you know. I haven't been around you guys in years. Dryads were scared of me too but they were much more passive about it, why is it that Humans' first response to fear is to kill instead of analyzing the problem?"

"It kept us alive thus far," said Geoff. "God, I hate politics," he whined, rubbing his face tiredly. "Can I go to bed now? Or is someone else going to get themselves killed?"

As if to answer that question, the door flew open and Ray and Michael ran inside, pushing Jack before them. They quickly closed the door back, Michael leaning against it in case someone wanted to come through. 

"Water healers," panted ray. "They are everywhere."

"They're supposed to be!" said Geoff. His frustration was reaching new and unexpected heights, as was his voice. "They're here for Michael!!"

"No, they want to dissect Jack! This guy started poking him and asking questions about his powers and his Fire and I'm certain he wanted to take his brain while he was sleeping, Geoff!"

"I don't think that's exactly how it happened," said Jack, "but they definitely are on the creepy side. I don't think they're given enough work nowadays, they're starting to go a little off the deep end. Now you're in charge you should make a decree that allows them to heal non-Elementals, it would keep them busy."

"Oh for fuck's sake," moaned Geoff. He let himself fall onto the bed with a sigh that made the walls shake. "I hate you all. Tell me they at least got to see Michael."

"They did," said Michael.

His voice was hoarse and crackling, weak from lack of use. But it was *his* voice and he was talking, and Geoff, Ryan and Gavin could only stare at him for a second. 

"Gavin, are you crying?"

"No," sniffled Gavin.

"... Then what do you call this? Eyeball sweat?"

"I'm not... I'm not crying... I never cry..."

His body didn't agree with that statement. Gavin dissolved into tears so quickly and so hard that even his legs gave up and he found himself sitting down, great sobs bursting out of his chest with so much force it felt like his lungs were breaking.

"What the fuck..." he heard Michael mumble.

"I don't-I don't know," he hiccupped. "I don't..."

"Shhh..."

Then there were arms around him, bringing him close and hiding his face into Ray's stomach. It was supposed to comfort him, it only made him cry harder.

"Geoff what the fuck did you do to him?" 

"Nothing! He thought we weren't trusting him anymore, I told him it wasn't true! It's not grounds for crying, is it?!"

Ray's hands were brushing his hair and Gavin couldn't stop crying. A ball of anguish had formed in his stomach and was pushing everything out of him in a torrent of tears. He was shaking with the strain of what felt like all the emotions in the world swirling inside him at the same time. 

Geoff had been right, he had reasons to cry. He had enough reasons to cry for years. And now Michael could talk again, and somehow this was the fact that had opened the floodgates and now Gavin was reduced to a puddle and didn't even fully understand what was happening to him. 

Geoff's tattooed arms wrapped gently around his shoulders. "Come on, help me out guys."

More arms around him and Gavin was pulled to his feet and carried to a bed, where he curled up on himself again, a tight ball of emotions that refused to shut up.

"What do we do?"

"This."

The familiar warmth of Jack's body slid besides Gavin and tucked him against his broad chest. Gavin immediately turned into it, his hands grabbing the fabric of Jack's shirt.

"It's okay, we're here," said the Elemental soothingly, as if talking to a child. This time Gavin welcomed it. He felt like a lost child.

He heard sounds around him and then there was someone else lying down behind him, and arms settling over him until he was buried under everyone else, at the center of a protective cocoon where he kept crying until he just couldn't anymore.

_***_

Of all the things Michael had expected to happen when he'd announce he had his voice back, Gavin breaking down in the middle of the room and starting to cry violently like a newborn baby was not on the list. 

He stayed frozen in place, wondering what the fuck was happening, while Ray went to hug the Dryad. Then Geoff decided to take him to bed and Jack decided to turn himself into a comforter.

"What the fuck," whispered Michael. 

"Is it finally catching up to him?" wondered Ray, equally as quiet as Gavin's cries, muffled by Jack's shirt, still invaded the room. 

"Is that what this is..."

"I guess so," said Ray. "He's been strangely all right after the battle and he's been quite stoic all along, even when he thought his whole people was going to be annihilated. He needs to let some steam out." Ray shivered slightly and grimaced. "Ugh. I don't like sensing this. It's not even a distinct feeling it's just all... jumbled up. He's a fucking mess."

Michael looked at the Dryad rolled up into a ball. 

He had always prided himself on being able to leave the past in the past... but he knew some people couldn't. It took time even for himself. It had been almost a month since the battle and he still had nightmares filled with glowing red eyes and blood splashing in his face, or Jack exploding before his eyes and he couldn't do anything about it. He knew he was just working through it and he would be back to normal in time... but what if Gavin couldn't? 

Michael thought for a second. 

"Ryan? Help me push this bed."

They put it against Gavin and Jack's and Michael climbed in, rolling until he was pressed against Gavin. It wouldn't hurt. Maybe even make the nightmares disappear faster, who knew. 

He heard Geoff do the same with a third bed on the other side and looked over his shoulder at Ray and Ryan standing like statues in the corner. Gavin's cries were starting to die down, hiccups stuttering in his chest. 

"Come here you two," mouthed Michael.

"I'm too cold," protested Ryan. "He doesn't need cold."

"Just fucking come here, next to me. You don't need to snuggle to him."

It was hesitant, but Ryan did as he was told -and fuck he really was cold. Michael tugged on the blanket under him to form a fence between Ryan and himself. As for Ray, he looked like didn't even know what to do. Giving comfort to Gavin had been easy, a simple reflex, a good deed for someone in need. But participating in such an open act of affection for no obvious reason since Gavin was already receiving enough comfort seemed to floor him. 

Except that Michael was patting the bed aggressively and Ray had to join the rest of them lest the guard got up and made him do it. 

Michael closed his eyes. He had vowed to protect Gavin the day he'd shown up before the King and faced the entire Human race because he had thought it was the right thing to do. He had vowed to protect him against Vampires because his duty commanded him to. Now, he guessed he could protect the Dryad against misery too, because he simply wanted to.

They fell asleep squished against each other on a makeshift bed that was still not large enough, while Ryan waited patiently and grabbed Ray to stop him from rolling off the edge in his sleep.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being in a war doesn't leave you a lot of time to talk about feelings and stuff, but now that's over...

"I need a cow."

Geoff looked up from whatever he'd been reading.

"What?"

"A cow." Ryan was drumming his fingers on the table.

"Do you often have such urges?"

Ryan stared at him impatiently. "I need blood."

"Yeah, yeah, don't throw a fit. I'm fucking with you."

"It's not a good idea to fuck with a Vampire this close to bloodlust."

"Are you really that far gone?" asked Gavin.

Ryan felt himself deflate as he heard an edge in the Dryad's voice.

"Nah. I'd just feel better with something in me."

"I can put something in you!" shouted Michael loudly from where he was slouching in an armchair, playing a half-hearted game of chess with Ray. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"You just heard the last sentence and decided to make it about sex?"

"Yes."

It had been two days since they arrived in the Elementals' village ; two days since Gavin had melted into a puddle of his own tears. He'd woken up the next morning with a mean headache but, after staring bemusedly at the five people who had been his blanket for the night, a large smile had cut across his face. His good mood had returned, even if he was still on edge. It made him even more agitated than usual, he could not stay still for more than five minutes.

Two days that they had all been pretty much locked up in an office while Geoff pored over piles of papers to try to find reliable people in their community. If they wanted to save the Dryads from their dying world, they needed architects, builders, managers... They needed to create a new army, to find new counselors and messengers. They needed people they could trust, who wouldn't secretly undermine the project just to get back at the Dryads and wouldn't back down in front of the King. Which meant that Geoff had to go select people carefully. And which, apparently, also meant that Geoff had to be constantly moody, walking a fine line between 'irritated' and 'mean'. It was like he couldn't take care of anything without getting angry at it.

Technically, they could get out and walk around town -but none of them found the experience particularly enjoyable. Partially because Geoff didn't like it when they left the room without his authorization and it made him even more irascible, but also because the villagers weren't a friendly bunch. All in all, they'd rather suffer through their cabin fever. Even though Geoff kept being pissy, and Gavin kept buzzing around like an annoying fly, and Jack had accidentally set fire to the carpet yesterday when Michael had dared him to try to levitate and his magic had gone wrong. Jack had looked horrified and was now sulking. The room still smelt of burnt fabric.

So it had been two days since Michael had found his voice back, and he had not been shy to use it as often as he could, letting it cut through the thick silence every few minutes.

"Sometimes I wonder if it wasn't better when you were mute," grumbled Ryan.

"Well that's just mean, Rye-bread."

"Stop calling me that."

"Why?"

"Michael, Ryan, just go buy a fucking cow," said Geoff, throwing them a purse clinging with coins. "Be careful out there."

"A 'fucking' cow, eh?" laughed Michael.

For half a second Ryan entertained the idea of biting into his neck.

Michael let his seat to Gavin, and they walked out to the sound of the Dryad complaining that Ray could cheat.

"You have empathy too!"

" _I_ can't read your mind! Geoff, tell him!"

"... Michael, wait!"

Just as Michael was closing the door Geoff leapt for it and slipped out of the room.

"I can't do it, I need a break."

"Poor Geoffie," said Michael in a mocking voice.

Ryan didn't miss the side look Geoff threw Michael, but the guard didn't seem to care.

Once outside, Ryan quickly pulled his hood over his head. Too many people looking at him made him jittery. He could hear their hearts pumping and their blood flowing, and that noise was only growing as his hunger increased.

After the excruciating pain of killing his Maker and after having found it in himself to stop drinking a Dryad's blood, ignoring simple Humans was child's play. Their heartbeat didn't make him want to bite someone, but it was driving him slightly insane. A constant reminder that he was something unnatural, made to kill and maim -and that he had done so for years.

The farms were outside of the village itself, built at the foot of the grassiest hill. They had to walk through half the town to get to it, and of course Ryan attracted all that attention he despised. Several people ran away when they saw them, others whispered without bothering to hide it. At some point, a shifty little man dressed in black started following them.

Plants were everywhere around them, pushing through gaps in the cobbelstoned path and cracks in the walls. They walked past several fountains where the water described some impossible geometrical shapes, scintillating in the sun. Through an open window Ryan heard a mother scolding her child for almost setting fire to his sister.

Ryan looked up, eyes squinting at the big blue sky. The sun was shining and the day was warm -probably. It looked like it should be warm. He couldn't really feel it. He glanced behind him and the little man following them hid, very badly, behind a lamp post.

"Are there no air Elementals?" Ryan asked thoughtfully, pretending not to have seen their follower. He seemed to be keeping his distances.

"There are. But it's the rarest of them all and they usually die pretty quickly," said Geoff.

"How?"

Geoff shrugged. "Flying's dangerous, if you can't control the wind to perfection you just... splat."

"They fly?!" Michael immediately looked up, as if trying to catch one of them in the act.

"Air is difficult to control, Elemental History is littered with tornado disasters... But once you get it, you can do whatever you want with it. Nobody really hates air-heads, we try to help them, but nobody's sorry they're mostly gone. Last I heard there were two of them left in this village -there may be more somewhere else, I don't know. They're both completely crazy, spend their time in the clouds and eating raw birds they catch mid-flight."

"Wow. That's hardcore," commented Michael. "Your help didn't... help, then?"

"No. We managed to make them understand that flying's dangerous... but they took it as meaning that flying _close to the ground_ is dangerous. You can't crash if there's nothing for you to crash into, so they stay up there."

"Fucking weird logic."

"Their heads are full of air," said Geoff. "They did help out in the Battle but it's the last time I ever saw them. Hey, dickhead!" he suddenly barked, turning around to face the hunched little man trying to follow them. "The empath is mine. Try to get to him and I'll sic my Vampire on your ass."

A bit lost as to what was happening, Ryan still uncovered his pointy teeth and the man scurried away with a cowardly shriek of terror.

Ryan waited until he'd disappeared to turn towards Geoff, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm yours to sic on people, now?"

"I just wanted to scare him."

"What the fuck was that?" asked Michael, frowning after the shifty little man.

"Name's Kev, he's a lowlife. Sells all sorts of stupid things that don't work, including those empathy "remedies"," said Geoff, air-quoting. "He's probably trying to see where Ray is. That kid is going to make all the crooks in the kingdom flock towards him like starving mosquitoes. I should make that shit illegal."

They finally reached the farm. The poor farmer looked terrified by these impromptu visitors, quickly getting them the oldest cow he possessed and slamming the door shut as soon as the money was in his hands. Geoff immediately gave the lead to Ryan.

They started the walk back to town. Ryan was about to part from them, take the cow somewhere deeper in the hills where no one would see him, but then Geoff stopped walking abruptly and swivelled on his heels to face Michael, who almost bumped into him.

"What?" asked Michael, looking up at Geoff.

"Do you have a problem with me?"

Ryan made the cow stop and listened from the side of the road. This ought to be interesting.

"I have a lot of problems with you," said Michael immediately. "Like that moustache you're apparently trying to grow. Do you know--"

"Michael. Be serious, please."

Michael's stance changed slightly. He was suddenly guarded, tense.

"I don't have anything to tell you," he said, a bit too quickly for it to be true.

"... Okay."

Geoff turned around and started again on the path. Michael didn't move.

"All right, I lied," he said and Geoff turned around again. "You're playing solo, Geoff. And it's fucking annoying."

Geoff didn't even answer. Michael rolled his eyes.

"Look, I get it, you don't like having responsibilities. You'd rather people listened to you without having to do shit for them in return. But here you are, so fucking stop acting like a kid!"

"...What the fuck are you talking about? I'm doing everything right! I've been busting my ass trying to find people fit to help us save the Dryads!"

"But you're doing it alone!" Michael was almost screaming, his voice still raw. "You could just stop acting like a fucking martyr upon whom we pushed some kind of divine task! You don't have to stay locked up in a room all day going through paperwork while grumbling under your breath like an old senile man and then complain about it like we ought to be impressed by just how self-sacrificing you are. And stop treating us like props for fuck's sake. Ryan's not "your" Vampire and Ray's not a fragile thing you have to protect. I thought that talk with Gavin would have opened your eyes, but apparently not. We're equals, Geoff!"

"I'm just trying to ward off people who want to fucking kill Ray!" yelled Geoff, indignated.

"It's the way you go about it that's ridiculous! There's no middle-ground with you, is there? Either you run away from everyone, or you control everything until we all suffocate! Ray's a big boy! Do I need to remind you that if he'd stayed in the cave like you ordered him, the Vampires would have won? Same goes for me and Gavin and Jack. Protecting us doesn't mean shunning us from all your decisions and doing your thing your way in your own corner. I know Jack trusts you until the end of the fucking world, but forgive me if I have doubts."

Geoff's mouth was hanging open. Michael crossed his arms on his chest, still on the defensive.

"I'm saying that for you, Geoffie. You need to trust us more, it works both ways."

"I do trust you, _Mikie_ ," retorted Geoff without missing a beat.

"Then show it. Jack tried to help you ten times already and you blew him away. We don't mind helping you out, okay? I'm tired of hearing you complain about how hard it is to be doing this alone. You're not fucking alone, fucking talk to us! You keep that up and Gavin's gonna cry again."

Silence followed, Geoff and Michael standing still, eyes locked. The cow mooed.

"You guys need to talk more often," mused Ryan.

Two pairs of eyes turned towards him and Ryan cringed under the implied accusation. It didn't stay implied for long.

"Oh you think? You really think so, Mr. I've Got A Secret That Could Kill Everyone But I'm Gonna Keep It To Myself?"

"Don't turn this on me," snapped Ryan, feeling a pang of resentment. "I fucked up, yes, and I don't know how many times I can say I'm sorry. But you guys have known each other for a long time, I'm not responsible for how weird your relationship is."

"You're the weirdest of us all," said Geoff with a scowl, as if Ryan ought to know this.

"... That's true." He did know this. He wasn't about to argue with them, he had no right to do so, it wasn't his place. He turned around, facing the hills, trying to ignore the way

Geoff and Michael's heartbeats bubbled in his ears. "Just do whatever you want, I'm going to go do what I need to do."

"Wait, Ryan."

"What?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

Geoff looked uncomfortable.

"Are you going to be okay feeding by yourself? You don't want someone with you?"

"I'm fine," said Ryan immediately. "You don't need to hold my hand."

"Sure. Ryan the Talk To Each Other But Not To Me guy," snarked Michael. "We can see you don't like it, you know. So do your thing and come back quickly so we can make you play chess."

"Chess?"

"There's nothing else to fucking do here. Drink cows, play chess, listen to everyone's pity-party, watch Geoff be an idiot..."

A surprised giggle pushed through Geoff's lips.

"Michael," he said fondly. "I really should listen to you more often."

"I know!" said Michael loudly.

They smiled at each other. Ryan looked at the cow by his side, who was munching on grass and looking at the other two with a glassy, mournful eye, and had to stop himself from laughing nervously.

He was about to go on his way when Michael grabbed Geoff's shirt and pulled him down until their lips met.

Geoff's eyes almost bulged out of his head, but it didn't take long for him to compose himself and return the kiss.

Ryan stood on the spot for a second before realizing he shouldn't stare. He turned and left them to it, tugging the cow after him and suddenly feeling very alone.

He came back to Geoff's office almost an hour later and found everyone locked in a five-way huddle. He stopped on the threshold while they all turned to him.

"Rye-bread!" shouted Michael happily. "You sneaked off like a thief, could have said 'good bye'."

"You were... busy."

"So? We didn't tell you to leave. How was dinner?"

"I didn't touch the cow."

"What?!"

Ryan shrugged. "It's outside. I tied it to a pole next to someone else who was tying their horse... I think they're pretty confused."

"Well so am I," said Geoff, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"I like that cow," said Ryan as an explanation. "I needed some company, she was there... We sat on the hills and watched the sun for a while, it was nice. I think I'm going to keep her."

"You needed company so you... talked to a cow?" asked Jack, clearly worried for his mental state.

"Yes, well..." Ryan hesitated. "Guess I needed fresh air, too."

"But aren't you hungry?"

"I'll go out tonight to hunt in the forest. It's more discreet. And I can bring back some meat for the village too, I'm guessing nobody will say no to venison and it might make people like us more."

"But the forest's a day away!" Gavin cried. "You're supposed to be my bodyguard, you can't just go!"

"I run fast, Gav. I'll be back by tomorrow morning, you'll be fine."

Gavin was observing him with his multi-colored eyes, head tilted to the side in thoughts.

"What?" asked Ryan.

"What did Joel do to stop himself from drinking ever again?"

"I have no idea or I would have done it already..." groaned Ryan. He noticed Gavin's left hand was scratching absent-mindedly at his right forearm, where, Ryan knew, a white scar was marring the tanned skin. The imprints of Ryan's own teeth. "You're safe," he said, the words spilling out of his mouth so fast he stumbled over them. "I'm not anywhere near crazy enough to attack you. I just want to stop this annoying feeling that I'm missing something to function right..."

"Huh? Oh..." Gavin stopped scratching and smiled shyly. "I'm not scared. I know you wouldn't do that. I was just thinking... Ryan..."

"What?"

"We were hugging," Gavin said clumsily.

Ryan frowned. "... what?"

"I mean, apparently Geoff had a deep conversation with Michael--"

"My tongue had a deep conversation with his tongue," said Michael quickly under his breath, with a smirk on his face.

"--and then he decided he wanted to hug us, so we did that for a moment... and huh..."

Gavin's voice had gone a little strange. He was trying to make it casual but he was obviously nervous.

Ryan looked at the rest of the guys. They all had a knowing look on their faces, like they knew perfectly well what was going to happen next even though Ryan himself had no idea. He wondered what he should do now... his stomach felt weird, which, since that organ had been dead for years, was unsettling to say the least.

"Ryan, do you, huh... like us?" asked Gavin slowly.

More and more puzzled, Ryan tried to choose his words carefully. "I wouldn't be there if I didn't--"

And then Gavin came up to him and pushed himself on his tippy-toes, and put his lips on Ryan's.

It was gentle, Gavin wasn't pushing or asking for more. It was a little clumsy, but then again he was doing all the work because Ryan was too dumbfounded to move much.... but it was nice. And his stomach was doing some kind of somersault that it should never have been able to do.

Ryan had been turned into a Vampire when he'd been thirteen, lived among psychopaths for most of his life, forced to kill for years before he could escape and hide in a dark forest. Never in his entire life had he kissed anyone -and honestly the thought had never occurred to him. He'd never thought himself normal enough to even entertain the idea of liking someone enough to let them kiss him. But judging by his stomach's reaction, this had been something he'd been wanting to do.

It only lasted a few seconds before Gavin broke apart and touched his lips with the tips of his lean fingers.

"You're cold. And your mouth is dry."

"I don't have a lot of saliva," said Ryan, his voice hoarse. "I'm mostly dead."

"Dude don't say that," said Ray, "it makes it weird."

"... It wasn't weird before?"

"Can I try kissing Ryan the Dry Mouth Guy?" asked Michael, coming up to him and doing exactly that without waiting for Ryan's answer. Ryan let him. His chapped lips felt rougher than Gavin's.

"Wow, yeah, it's weird," was Michael's conclusion when he stopped.

"Can I try?" asked Ray, obviously very interested.

"I'm not an attraction!" protested Ryan.

"But you're attractive."

"Smooth, Ray," chuckled Jack. "You're uncharacteristically giddy..."

"I can feel all of you guys and you're all in fucking lovey-dovey mode. If I feel giddy it's your fault."

Geoff watched them all play around each other, the awkwardness of earlier melting as they joked and coaxed Ryan into joining in without looking so stiff. Telling him they didn't mind him, even as fucked-up and weird as he was, because they were all fucked-up and weird anyway.

Geoff knew it was true for himself. He had learned to appreciate those idiots, but he hadn't allowed himself to show it. But if Michael had been able to leave the past in the past, forgiving Geoff for his mistakes and making his peace with Lindsay's death, then Geoff should be able to do it too. Even if he had to mumble an apology to the water Elemental beforehand, hoping she could somehow hear him and forgive him, too... And another apology to his mother. Guilt swirled inside him whenever he thought about allowing himself to move on, to forget about how he had failed her and failed his troop all those years ago. But maybe it was time to accept that guilt and work on it.

Two Elementals, a royal guard who had fled his post, a Vampire friend with a cow, a Dryad and an empath. All together and forming a weirdly united faction, about as stable as an earthquake... Eh, they'll make it work. Somehow. Turned out fighting an army of Vampires with death hanging above your heads was a good way to form close bounds with people.

_***_

Geoff had taken Michael's advice to heart and relaxed a bit, sharing a lot more with them, and they had all played the game. It allowed everything to go faster.

Which also meant the day Gavin had to return to the Old Oak Forest was approaching fast. The Dryad looked conflicted most of the time -he obviously didn't enjoy the Human world all that much, but he didn't want to leave the others. The day Geoff declared he would have to return to the Forest within the week, he looked on the verge of a second impressive breakdown.

"Can't you guys come with me?"

"I'm the fucking Chief, I can't leave," mumbled Geoff. "I have to at least show my grandfather I can stay on the job without running away."

"I don't think your people would be very happy to see me," said Ryan.

Michael only shrugged. Jack and Ray stayed silent. And Gavin pouted dejectedly.

"I don't want to go back alone..."

"You can't leave your own people, Gavin."

"I know, I know..." said Gavin, but he still looked defeated.

"Nobody knows Humans as well as you do," said Geoff with a sigh. "And that's saying a lot... We need you to be our messenger if we want to rekindle the relationship between our two worlds. We can't allow ignorance to tear everything down again... Hey" he added, "we'll have an oak tree on the hills as soon as we can. You'll be able to come back easily."

"And you better do it," added Michael.

They came with him on the journey to the oak tree, leaving the village to the hands of trusted people they'd managed to find. They were mostly silent as they walked, their feet getting a heavier as they approached their destination.

When they reached the Field they noticed a few plants growing across the formerly barren land. Geoff moved his hands around for a moment, and by the time they had reached the second forest, the vast open plain was covered by a thick carpet of grass and dandelions. Which Ryan's cow ate.

"I still don't understand why you took that cow with you," said Geoff, watching the animal munch on the plants he'd just created.

"He likes her more than he likes us," said Jack.

"Well, that's true," admitted Ryan, straight-faced.

"You have a name for her?"

"I was thinking of calling her Edgar."

Everyone turned to him with varying degrees of surprise on their face.

"Really?"

"Edgar the cow," said Ryan. "Sounds great. I'm sure my dear father would be thrilled to know his name is carried by a harmless, dopey animal I like and who spends its time eating grass and burping."

Geoff laughed. "You're fucking weird, dude."

"So you keep telling me."

The oak tree, all thick bark and gnarly knots, glowed as soon as Gavin approached. The faint sound of small bells rang through the air. Jack watched the golden light, that peaceful and beautiful glint that covered everything in the Dryad world and was cruelly missing from the Human world.

Gavin frowned at it. He leaned forward to sniff it once or twice.

"It's not right," he said.

"What?"

"The light. It's duller than it should be."

"Your world is dying," said Ray softly.

"I know," said Gavin, trying to keep his voice light and carefree. "It's just weird to see."

Geoff touched the bark and two dozens of nuts fell down. He picked up a handful and pocketed them, then turned towards Gavin.

"You ready? Time to go home."

"Right... home..." mumbled Gavin. He adjusted the straps of the two satchels hanging on his shoulder and took a step towards the tree. "I hope nobody's gone bonkers while I was gone. I'm done with all this bullcrap."

Michael laughed and put his hands on the Dryad's shoulder. "I want to see your ass back here at least once a week, got it?"

"Well, as soon as Geoff has the oak tree on the hills..." said Gavin.

"Oh you'll have your tree," assured Geoff. To prove his point he stepped on one of the fallen nuts, letting it sink into the soil, and made a swirling motion with his hand. Almost immediately a young stem was pushing out of the earth, growing a couple of inches before Geoff stopped it. "You'll have a whole forest of them a year from now."

"I hope so. Your world is too bare."

Geoff pulled him out of Michael's grip to hug him. "Stay warm," he said. "The moment you feel like the air is getting too cold, don't hesitate to come to us. Even if the preparations aren't quite done on our side. We'll find something."

"All right..."

"I'll come with you."

Jack had stayed utterly silent all day. His deep voice startled everyone.

"What?" squeaked Gavin, letting go of Geoff.

"I'll come with you, Gav," repeated Jack.

"Really?" Gavin's eyes started shining even brighter. "All right!!"

"Why?" asked Geoff as Gavin was jumping up and down in excitement.

"The Dryads can help me with my magic."

"You have more magic than all of them put together!"

"Yes, but they know stuff about it. I obliterated a carpet the other day, Geoff. I can't control it well and it's worse when I'm stressed. I think I'll feel better surrounded by people who know what... what I am."

"I think I'll go too," said Ray softly. He cleared his throat as all eyes turned to him. "You won't hate me for it, right?"

Geoff felt an odd pull inside him, like someone was tugging strings in his chest.

"Of course not, dumbass," he said gruffly. "If you guys have an opportunity to feel safer, take it."

Jack's eyes were far too knowing as they fell on him.

"It's not your fault, Geoff. It's just... it's this world. It's your grandfather's fault, it's the King's fault if we can't feel safe enough here."

"No, I know," said Geoff, and he really did. But knowing it did not stop his insides from twisting around in shame and a sense of failure from washing over him.

"I trust you," said Ray, bumping into him gently. "You'll make things better."

"I'm not the only one working to make things better," said Geoff.

Michael had a little laugh. "Look at you, you're learning!"

"Shut the fuck up. Jack, Ray, Gavin... good luck."

"I'll knit you scarves and mittens," said Michael.

"You can knit?"

"Nope. I never said they'll be nice scarves and mittens."

Gavin laughed and leaned in to kiss Michael's cheek, making an exaggerated sloppy wet sound.

"Bye, Micoo. Thanks for everything you've done for me."

"Dude, what the fuck," grouched Michael, wiping his cheek with his sleeve. "I'll see you next week. Don't act as if we're parting ways forever."

"But I never did say thank you," said Gavin.

"Yes, you did. You spent the first two days we met thanking me over and over."

"Oh... well, thanks again. For never giving up."

Michael snorted derisively and pinched Gavin's cheek.

"Such a polite little boy."

Gavin's protests were drowned by Jack and Ray laughing at him. Geoff looked at Ryan, who hadn't said a word so far, and grabbed his cold wrist.

"Come on, asshole."

He pulled the Vampire along as he threw himself at the rest of the guys for a last huddle.

Somewhere behind them Edgar the cow mooed ruefully and Gavin started laughing hysterically.

They broke apart a few minutes later. Gavin took Ray's hand, who in turn took Jack's, and with a last wave, they walked through the Oak and disappeared.

A gust of wind later and the tree had stopped shining, the soft sound of bells had died out, and the forest was dull and flat again.

"Heads up," said Geoff, throwing a nut at Michael who only just caught it. "We have some gardening to do."


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I am posting the last two chapters at the same time.  
> Although this is an epilogue more than a chapter... this is the end, friends.

_~a year later~_

Carried by a warm summer breeze, the soft tinkling sound of small bells broke the silence of the night.

As the wind came to rest on the ocean, carving gentle waves in the water, the tinkling swept through the Elementals' village. It knocked at doors and windows, waking up the sleeping souls and alerting those still awake.

From the Chief's mansion came a much louder, much ruder noise.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK! RYAN!!"

"I'm here."

The Vampire was waiting in the hallway just in front of Geoff's office, arms crossed over his chest, looking patiently at the Elemental barrelling out of the room, dishevelled and panicked.

"Fell asleep at your desk again?"

"My chair's too comfy. Where's Michael?"

"Waiting outside. He wasn't sleeping, he heard it immediately."

"They're fucking twelve hours early! What the hell!"

"You'll have to ask them."

"Fuck, hurry!"

Geoff ran down the hallway, knocking on every door he passed.

"WAKE UP, YOU LAZY MOTHERFUCKERS! We've got visitors!"

In less than ten minutes, half the village was standing at the bottom of the hills, looking up and waiting. Only a few of them were officials, people from Geoff's administration and messengers from King Gus himself who had been sent the day before to supervise the operations, as well as a few guards in uniform. But most of the sleepy faces looking earnestly at the hills were simply curious figures who didn't want to miss the show.

"You think something happened?" asked Michael a bit anxiously as Geoff skidded to a halt next to him, in front of everyone else.

"Well, yeah. They're fucking early... Let's just hope it's nothing too bad. My grandfather's not here?" he asked, looking around.

Michael scoffed. "As if he would get up in the middle of the night for this."

It didn't take long for the light of a torch to flicker into existence at the top of the tallest hill, followed by another, and another. And a hundred more, trembling in the night and slowly travelling down the grassy slope, emerging from the dark silhouettes of trees. The Dryads were walking down the hill on unsteady feet, their iridescent eyes shining as bright as the stars over their heads. A floury of forest animals were running around them, deer and rabbits scuttling away. A low murmur of excitement and apprehension could be heard, people whispering to each other as they saw the reception committee waiting for them.

At the front, Gavin, Ray and Jack were walking side by side, Jack holding a bright fireball that was exuding an incredible heat instead of a torch. Miles and Barbara weren't far behind. They were all bundled in clothes too thick for the warm weather and most of them were holding a weapon of some kind. The faces Geoff remembered as fearful and naive had changed ; the watery eyes had hardened, the soft cheeks were hollowed and reddened by the cold, and manual labor had attacked the smooth skin of their hands.

There was a gasp and someone from the Elementals' side pointed at the top of the hills. Geoff squinted. There was indeed something coming down after all the Dryads... Or rather, something _s_. Big somethings. Big animalistic somethings.

"Holy shit..." he breathed as three wolves, two black cats and an eagle, all of them at least three times as big as they should have been, made themselves known as the light of the torches blinked upon them.

"Well. They've gone all out to surprise us," commented Ryan quietly.

Gavin, Jack and Ray stopped in front of Geoff, Ryan and Michael. Everyone else stopped too, and all the whispers died. Gavin threw a nervous glance around and cleared his throat.

"Hum... Hello," he said awkwardly. "We are... here."

A second of silence passed as Geoff observed the Dryad.

"You're early. What happened?"

"Someone got sick," said Jack, looking over to an anxious Dryad woman holding her child in her arms. The little face half-hiding in her collarbone was far too pale, the long thin ears drooping.

Geoff immediately turned around, scanning the crowd of onlookers. "Is there a healer around here? --Kev, I can see you. Beat it before I throw you in prison," he said fiercely.

The silhouette of a hunched little man ran away in the night. Ray waved at it playfully.

"Fucking asshole," growled Geoff, "All right, a healer!"

A small, kind-looking woman stepped forward with a little hop.

"I'll take care of the little one," she said, holding out a hand for the mother to take.

She seemed to hesitate, but after an encouraging nod from Gavin, she took the offered hand and let the water Elemental drag her and her son towards the village.

"We aren't sure if it's contagious," said Jack, "and it's way too cold in the Old Oak Forest to do anything for him anyway, all the plants are dead or dying. We figured he'd better spend the night here, even if we had to come early. Sorry."

"No, you figured right," said Geoff with a nod. He eyed the giant eagle, who had started talking with Miles in hushed voices. "Nice of you to bring company..."

"Oh yeah, the animals came by yesterday," said Ray. "We didn't even know they existed but they heard we were leaving and wanted a ride. They took friends with them," he said, looking down at a normal-sized squirrel sniffing his shoes. "Turns out they really can talk to animals. One of the wolves promised to teach me, I wanna know if I can read an animal's mind..."

"Geoff? Maybe you should do the honors," suggested Jack.

"Oh. Right. Everyone," Geoff said loudly to the Dryads, "listen to me. People with children? Okay, you guys follow those guys," said Geoff, pointing at three Elementals by his side, "they will lead you to your village immediately so your kids can rest. The fireplaces are lit up, you'll be able to warm up. It's just after that hill over there, you won't have far to walk. Big animals... Yeah, you guys," he pointed at the giant animals who had been patiently waiting, "huh... You do whatever you want. Everyone else, follow me. There's paperwork to sign and letters to write before you can settle. Ryan, could you take care of the curious?"

"Sure," said Ryan, turning towards the mass of Elementals still gawking.

Despite the increasing Dryad presence in the last year, most of them had never seen one. The Elementals were staring, often quite rudely, at the skittish bunch, and weren't really helping making them feel at home.

Ryan's eyes flashed bright red in the night and he let out a growl. There were a few screams and everyone scattered immediately.

"I was thinking you could talk to them," whispered Geoff between clenched teeth.

"It's faster that way."

"How the hell can you be offended when I ask you to scare someone, but when I ask you to do it gently you make them crap themselves!?"

"Geoff, it would be time you learned Ryan lives to contradict you," said Ray with a giggle.

"I hate you all..." he said, but at the same time he grabbed Ray and slung an arm over his shoulders. He pointed at the village, "Let's go, posse. We have stuff to do and then everyone can come home once and for all."

"Home," repeated Gavin.

Ryan pushed Gavin's back to steer him towards the town hall, and the four others followed suit, chatting happily together as Jack's fireball warmed them up. The Dryads behind them started walking too, a hollow feeling of loss in their chest but hope clearly written on their features.

"Yes," whispered Gavin to himself. "Home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end!  
> Aww, I'm a bit sad now. I've been working on this for a long time a now it's all over.
> 
> Thank you very much to everyone who read, kudo'd, commented or bookmarked this story. You guys are awesome. 
> 
> I am planning on writing some more in this universe, for example the Battle of the Field with Geoff and Michael and Lindsay... and other things probably. Hope you guys will like it too!
> 
> LLLLLLET'S STOP.


End file.
